India Targets East Asia in Next Phase of UPI’s Global Push
Officials set a 1 billion-user goal, citing 21 billion December transactions plus acceptance in eight countries.
Overview
- Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju said India is moving to widen UPI’s overseas acceptance with a priority on East Asia.
- UPI works for payments in Bhutan, Singapore, Qatar, Mauritius, Nepal, the UAE, Sri Lanka and France, enabling Indian travelers to pay merchants using their UPI apps.
- RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar put active users at about 400 million and outlined a target of 1 billion users.
- UPI is linked to Singapore’s fast payment system since February 2023, with similar projects under implementation with the UAE and Nepal.
- UPI handled more than 21 billion transactions in December 2025 and processes about 81% of India’s retail payment volumes, as officials also flagged financial inclusion gains and stepped-up cybersecurity measures such as mule-hunter tools.