Google India Digital Services and NPCI International Payments (NIPL), a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), aim to provide Indian consumers with more flexibility in making digital payments overseas.
This collaboration, formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), seeks to extend the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) beyond India.
It seeks to enable Indian consumers to use UPI-enabled apps like Google Pay to reduce their reliance on foreign currency, credit, or forex cards in the future.
This agreement focuses on three main objectives; enabling UPI payments for Indian travelers abroad, aiding in the creation of UPI-based digital payment systems in other countries, and facilitating international remittances through UPI infrastructure.
This partnership is poised to enhance UPI’s international acceptance, offering Indian consumers an alternative to traditional payment methods while traveling.
Deeksha Kaushal, Director, Partnerships, Google Pay India said,
“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.
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 impact beyond the sum of parts.”
Ritesh Shukla, CEO – NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), said,
“We are pleased to team up with Google Pay to propel UPI onto the global stage. This strategic partnership will not only simplify foreign transactions for Indian travelers but will also allow us to extend our knowledge and expertise of operating a successful digital payments ecosystem to other countries.
We are also excited about enabling a seamless and more connected international remittance network by further expanding UPI’s cross-border interoperability feature. With the success of UPI in a dynamic market like India we are excited to further our vision to transform the digital payments landscape globally.”
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
