India, Israel sign pact to link UPI systems in major digital payments push; Know where else the platform works

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a special session of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem February 25, 2026. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

India and Israel have taken a major step toward deepening their digital and financial partnership by signing an agreement to link their payment systems, enabling cross-border use of India’s Unified Payments Interface.

The agreement will connect India’s Unified Payments Interface, one of the world’s largest real-time digital payment platforms, with Israel’s domestic payments framework. The move is aimed at making digital transactions between the two countries faster, cheaper, and more seamless.

By linking the two systems, businesses and individuals in both countries are expected to benefit from simplified cross-border payments, particularly for trade, tourism, and remittances. The integration is also likely to reduce reliance on traditional banking channels, cutting down transaction costs and settlement times.

UPI is currently operational in more than eight countries, creating a growing global footprint for the digital payments system. These include the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius, and Qatar, where users can make real-time digital payments across borders.

Officials say this international rollout is helping to boost remittances, promote financial inclusion, and strengthen India’s position in the global fintech ecosystem. The government has also signed cooperation agreements with 23 countries to share and adopt its wider Digital Public Infrastructure solutions, including digital identity and payment systems under the India Stack framework.

The signing of the agreement came on the second and final day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel -- his second to the country since 2017.

“We have decided to establish the Critical and Emerging Technologies Partnership. This will give new momentum to cooperation in areas such as AI, quantum, and critical minerals,” said PM Modi.

“I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel,” he added.

Highlighting the breadth of India-Israel cooperation, PM Modi said the two countries will deepen collaboration in key strategic and development sectors, including civil nuclear energy, space, and agriculture.

Modi said the partnership would expand beyond existing areas to include greater engagement in civil nuclear energy and the space sector. He also underlined a shared focus on agriculture, stressing the need to combine technological innovation with practical, on-ground farming requirements.

As part of this effort, India and Israel plan to jointly develop what he described as “villages of excellence,” an initiative aimed at boosting agricultural productivity and strengthening rural development through the use of advanced technologies and global best practices.

“We will further our work in civil nuclear energy and space fields. Together, we will develop future-ready farming solutions. We will work on creating villages of excellence,” Modi said.