NPCI's international arm partners with Singapore firm to expand UPI
Mumbai, Mar 19, 2025
UPI services will be expanded to more than 12,000 merchants in Singapore
The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said on Wednesday it is partnering with Singapore-based payment infrastructure firm Hitpay to expand the acceptance of UPI in the Southeast Asian country.
This is the second major partnership by NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) in Singapore after launching the UPI-PayNow linkage that allows Indians to receive remittances directly in bank accounts in India and Singapore.
UPI, short for Unified Payments Interface, is India’s real-time payments system run by the NPCI. The apex payments body said UPI acceptance will be rolled out to more than 12,000 merchants in Singapore. Merchants will be able to offer Indian users with online and offline forms of UPI.
“We are focused on expanding UPI’s global presence to make transactions easier for Indians travelling abroad. Our partnership with HitPay expands UPI acceptance in Singapore, offering Indians a reliable, cost-effective payment option during their travel. This collaboration also highlights our commitment to building a globally connected payments ecosystem,” said Ritesh Shukla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NPCI International.
NIPL is the wholly owned subsidiary of the NPCI. It is tasked with deploying India’s UPI and card scheme RuPay internationally.
“By offering Indian travellers a smooth, familiar and affordable payment option, it enhances their experience while also deepening economic and technological connections between India and other countries,” said Aditya Haripurkar, CEO and co-founder, HitPay.
Last month, NIPL partnered with United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based fintech firm Magnati to enable QR-based UPI merchant payments through point-of-sale (POS) terminals across the UAE.
UPI payments are accepted in seven countries: Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, France, and UAE. More than 20 apps, including BHIM, PhonePe, Paytm, and Google Pay, support international transactions.
In December, NIPL CEO Shukla revealed that the body was working with countries such as the UAE and Mauritius to help develop a card scheme similar to RuPay.
NIPL is also targeting international use cases such as peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, mirroring UPI’s offerings in India. For P2P transactions, NIPL employs a two-pronged strategy involving bilateral and multilateral efforts.
The multilateral approach includes initiatives like Project Nexus, under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
The BIS Innovation Hub, in collaboration with central banks of India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, is working on connecting instant payment systems of different countries through Project Nexus.
[The Business Standard]
