UPI lands in Qatar: India expands digital payments reach with rollout at Lulu Group stores

Piyush Goyal calls UPI launch in Qatar a “milestone moment” that will boost trade, cut costs, and make remittances faster for over 8 lakh Indians

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is continuing its global march. After debuting at Hamad International Airport’s duty-free outlets last month, the homegrown digital payment platform has now gone live at Lulu Group’s stores in Qatar, marking another step in India’s push to take UPI global.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the facility at a Lulu store in Doha on Monday, calling it a major leap in India-Qatar financial integration.

“The launch of UPI is not just a digital payment solution, it has the potential to revolutionise trade between Qatar and India,” Goyal said, as quoted by PTI.

“By integrating the payment systems of both nations, people will be able to trade more, trade smarter, and at a lower cost.”

‘A milestone in India-Qatar ties’

The rollout in Qatar is part of a collaboration between NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), Qatar National Bank (QNB), and Japanese payments gateway NETSTARS.

The facility will allow Indian travellers and residents in Qatar to make seamless, real-time digital payments using UPI at Lulu’s point-of-sale terminals. Goyal said the system will enable “smoother and more cost-effective movement of capital” between the two nations, adding that remittances from Qatar to India will become faster, cheaper, and nearly real-time.

“Expanded trade will be further strengthened with the adoption of UPI,” Goyal said. “I thank QNB for taking up UPI as part of their payment systems.”

The minister also urged other Qatari banks and institutions to adopt UPI, describing Monday’s rollout as a “milestone in this journey in the years ahead,” according to PTI.

Qatar becomes the eighth UPI-enabled country

Qatar is now the eighth country to accept UPI, joining a growing list that includes Singapore, the UAE, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius.

For the 830,000 Indians living in Qatar, the move means less reliance on foreign currency or international cards while shopping, paying bills, or sending money home. It also benefits Qatari businesses by reducing transaction costs and encouraging digital adoption in retail and tourism sectors.

“It’s wonderful to see QNB become the bridge between NPCI, which developed the UPI platform, and Lulu Group, which is now offering digital payments through UPI,” Goyal said.

UPI: from Indian innovation to global phenomenon

Goyal reminded that UPI, launched nine years ago, has grown into India’s biggest fintech success story.

“Eighty-five percent of India’s digital payments go through UPI, and nearly 50 percent of global digital transactions are powered by UPI,” he said.

The platform currently handles an average of 640 million transactions every day, making it a model for interoperable, low-cost, real-time payments.

As India continues to forge fintech partnerships across the world, UPI’s expansion to Qatar signals a deeper economic connection — one powered not by oil or trade alone, but by digital trust and speed.