Google Pay India partners with NPCI to expand UPI services beyond India

Tech giant Google India Digital Services and NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to take the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) global.

The objective of the partnership

The partnership aims to extend UPI's transformative impact beyond India, focusing on three main objectives. Firstly, it will enable travellers from India to use UPI payments abroad. Secondly, the collaboration seeks to establish UPI-like digital payment systems in other countries.

Lastly, it aims to simplify international remittances using the UPI infrastructure.

Accelerating UPI's global acceptance

As per NPCI statement, The outlined objectives will help accelerate UPI's global acceptance, providing foreign merchants access to Indian customers who will no longer have to rely only on foreign currency and/or, credit or forex cards for making digital payments and will have the option using UPI powered Apps from India including Google Pay. 

Moreover, the MoU will also significantly contribute to simplifying remittances by reducing dependence on conventional money transfer channels.

Google expresses commitment to support UPI growth

"Google Pay has been a proud and willing collaborator to NPCI and the financial ecosystem, under the regulator’s guidance, and this collaboration is another step towards our commitment to making payments simple, safe and convenient," said Deeksha Kaushal, Director, Partnerships, Google Pay India.

Kaushal said UPI has demonstrated to the world the step change that happens in economies with the introduction of interoperable, population-scale digital infrastructure, and each economy that joins such networks will create an impact beyond the sum of parts.

"We are very excited about the scope of this collaboration," Kaushal added.

UPI's growth in India

In FY 2022-23, UPI transactions in India reached 8,375 crore, a significant increase from 92 crore in FY 2017-18. The growth represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 147% in volume.

UPI has become a dominant force in India's digital payment sector, accounting for 62% of digital payment transactions. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government have been instrumental in this growth, promoting digital transactions and financial inclusion.

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