UPI was introduced in India in August 2016 by the NPCI. (Representational)
The NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) has recently declared that Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) with bank accounts in India, but with international mobile numbers, can now make UPI payments.
The organisation which manages UPI payments and developments stated in a circular that account holders with international mobile numbers from 10 countries will be able to conduct transactions. The NPCI has instructed UPI participants like Paytm, Google Pay and others to implement the necessary changes by April 30.
However, the UPI system will initially be accessible to individuals with NRE-NRO accounts and international mobile numbers from only certain countries. As of now, NRIs from 10 countries can make use of UPI. These countries are:
Australia: +61
Canada: +1
Hong Kong: +852
Oman: +968
Qatar: +974
Saudi Arabia: +966
Singapore: +65
United Arab Emirates: +971
United Kingdom: +44
USA: +1
Talking about the initiative, NPCI said, "All the members are hereby advised to comply with the above directives by 30th April 2023." Additionally, NPCI has stated that all standard onboarding and transaction level checks outlined in current UPI guidelines will apply to these accounts.
To provide UPI services to NRIs, member banks of the UPI ecosystem must adhere to the following conditions:
- Ensure that NRE/NRO accounts with international mobile numbers are in compliance with extant Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations and any guidelines/instructions issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- Undertake necessary Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) checks.
- The compliance validation and account level validation as per regulatory guidelines will be the responsibility of the remitter and beneficiary banks.
- Creating a UPI ID on a platform like Google Pay requires users to submit their bank account information and a 10-digit mobile number. UPI IDs in payment apps such as Paytm typically consist of the user's phone number, followed by "@UPI" or "@paytm" for example, XXXXXXXXXX@paytm.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) reported that as of December 2022, it has 382 partner banks. Recently, UPI payments reached a record high of Rs 12.82 lakh crore. As per the Department of Financial Services (DFS), 782 crore transactions were conducted in volume terms in December 2022.
UPI was introduced in India in August 2016 by the NPCI.