Overview

• The agreement sets the foundation for a strategic alliance to work toward enabling UPI at NTT DATA–acquired merchant locations across Japan.
• If implemented, visitors from India would pay by scanning QR codes with their existing UPI applications at participating merchants.
• NTT DATA operates CAFIS, described as Japan’s largest card payment processing network that links acquirers, issuers, merchants, and ATMs.
• NIPL and NTT DATA said they will conduct joint technical and commercial assessments, with no rollout timeline or regulatory clearances announced.
• The push targets a growing travel corridor, with more than 208,000 Indian arrivals in Japan from January to August 2025, up 36% year on year, and aligns with UPI’s expanding acceptance in markets such as Singapore, France, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Qatar, and Mauritius.