The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, vide circular no. RBI/2022- 23/176CO.DPSS.POLC.No.S–1907/02.14.006/2022-23 dated 10.02.2023, allowed access to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to foreign nationals and NRIs visiting India by enabling them to make payments using UPI while they are in India. RBI has updated its Master Directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) accordingly. This was stated by Union Minister for State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

The Minister further stated that this facility has been extended to travellers from G-20 countries at select international airports (Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi) for their merchant payments. Further, a provision has also been made by RBI to provide UPI access to NRIs who have international mobile numbers linked to their NRE / NRO accounts. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has apprised that the said facility is allowed for 10 countries namely Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE and United Kingdom.

The Volume and Value-wise UPI transactions since 2018 is as under:

Year	Volume (in Crore)	Value (in lakh Crore)
2018	374.63	5.86
2019	1078.75	18.37
2020	1888.09	33.88
2021	3873.31	71.58
2022	7403.97	125.94
2023*	5183.85	83.20

*Note- UPI data for CY-2023 spans from January 2023 to June 2023. Source:RBI

Giving more information, the Minister stated that the UPI acceptance in foreign countries started in 2022 only. Further, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is devoted for internationalisation of UPI. RBI has been facilitating engagements for the expansion of UPI in countries which have potential for collaboration, the Minister stated.

UPI access for foreign visitors enabled for in country payments, with NRI account linking and targeted airport merchant acceptance. Access to Unified Payments Interface has been authorised for foreign nationals and non-resident Indians visiting India, permitting them to use UPI for payments while physically present in the country. The RBI amended its Prepaid Payment Instrument framework to enable this facilitation, including provisions for NRIs to obtain UPI access linked to NRE/NRO accounts with international mobile numbers, and a targeted rollout for travellers from selected countries at designated international airports for merchant payments.