The Indian government is working to significantly expand the international footprint of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), with a strong focus on East Asian markets, Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju said on Tuesday. The move is aimed at strengthening India’s digital payments ecosystem and enabling seamless transactions for Indians abroad.

Speaking at the Global Inclusive Finance India Summit, Nagaraju highlighted that UPI has already transformed India’s payments landscape, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of all digital transactions in the country. He said the government is now keen to replicate this success globally by onboarding more countries to the platform.

Currently, UPI is accepted in eight countries—Bhutan, Singapore, Qatar, Mauritius, Nepal, the UAE, Sri Lanka, and France. Its overseas acceptance allows Indian tourists and residents to make real-time digital payments abroad using their domestic bank-linked UPI apps, reducing dependence on cash and cards.

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Nagaraju noted that UPI transactions crossed an unprecedented 21 billion in December 2025, underscoring the platform’s rapid adoption and scalability. He attributed this growth not only to technological innovation but also to the expansion of PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts and a steady rise in average account balances.

The Unified Payments Interface is operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation established by the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks’ Association. NPCI manages key retail payment and settlement systems, making UPI a cornerstone of India’s digital public infrastructure.

Beyond digital payments, the DFS secretary also stressed the need to support micro-enterprises in scaling up into medium and large businesses. He said sustained growth would require better market access, productivity improvements, and greater use of technology and hardware to enable India’s vast base of micro-units to graduate into stronger economic contributors.

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