Inbound travelers can now use UPI, says RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

UPI facilities will be extended to inbound travelers for merchant payments, initially for G20 countries, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das while announcing bi-monthly monetary policy on February 8.

This service will be permitted to travelers from G-20 countries arriving at select international airports.

"UPI has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India. It is now proposed to permit all inbound travelers to India to use UPI for their merchant payments (P2M) while they are in the country. To begin with, this facility will be extended to travelers from G-20 countries arriving at select international airports," Das said.

Rajsri Rengan, Head of Banking and Payments, India and Philippines, FIS, said, “Customers coming to India will now be able to use UPI while carrying out P2M transactions. This is a great move to scale up the use of digital payments in India as well as improve their payment experience.”

"As India has assumed the G20 Presidency this year and is already being hailed as the ‘pioneer of digital technology’ with one of its strongest digital public infrastructure of UPI, the RBI has announced that it will allow all inbound travelers to use UPI payments for their merchant payments while they are in the country. The facility will be first allowed to travelers from G20 countries first and will be later extended to travelers from other jurisdictions," Kazim Rizvi, Founding Director of The Dialogue said.

India’s travel and tourism industry is the 7th largest in the world and it contributes nearly 9.6% to India’s GDP. Initiatives in the direction of digital practices in the field of mobile banking, e-wallets and credit & debit cards will play an important role in further boosting the tourism industry with respect to ease of payments, according to Rizvi.

"The use of UPI for merchant payments by inbound travelers will not only ease the payment experience for travelers but will also ease the pressure of bank notes on the government which is moving towards a cashless economy. The push for using UPI by inbound travelers in India and also the Indian travelers abroad will lead to UPI’s expansion in the world," Rizvi added.