While India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has transformed the home digital payments ecosystem beyond recognition, it is now making a big impact internationally with Qatar being the latest country to avail the power fintech platform. This global expansion is a clear signal that India intends to position UPI as one of the main channels in cross-border banking, tourism, trade, and digital diplomacy.
UPI Reaches Qatar: Expanding India’s Digital Footprint
UPI’s acceptance by Qatar was officially confirmed at a ceremony held in Doha, where Piyush Goyal, India’s Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, was present. This landmark builds on India’s initiatives to establish deeper digital collaborations with Qatar and to provide a simple, secure and efficient method of payment for Indian travelers and the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf region.
The collaboration implies that tourists, business travelers, and expatriates of India will be able to do their cashless transactions at Qatari merchants who are Digital Pay-enabled from malls to restaurants using their familiar online pay apps just like at home with no hassle.
A Growing List: Which Countries Have UPI?
India has bridged the digital divide successfully with several countries and has therefore extended UPI’s footprint globally in a fast manner. Below is the list of major countries where online pay is operational:
- United Arab Emirates (UAE): In July 2024, UPI was launched, and more than 60,000 merchant locations began to accept Digital wallet payments. The initiative, done in collaboration with Network International, targeted Indian travelers who preferred familiar means of payment and at the same time made the collection process simple for the local businesses.
- Bhutan: Being the first country to sign the Digital Pay contract in July 2021, Bhutan is facilitating QR-based payments in the local markets thereby encouraging visitors from India as well as local businesses. The UPI deployment came after the initial RuPay launch, which paved the way for deeper fintech integration between the two countries.
- Nepal: Nepal went live in March 2024 as a Fonepay Payment Service partner to enable Indian tourists to make payments easily. The partnership has facilitated regional trade and tourism by making transactions between India and Nepal smooth and secure.
- France: It was at the Eiffel Tower that UPI made its European debut with France embracing the technology in February 2024. The event was followed by a QR code installation at the luxurious Galeries Lafayette shopping mall, an initiative undertaken with Lyra Group. Now visitors from India enjoy fast and secure payments throughout France.
- Mauritius & Sri Lanka: Both nations simultaneously introduced Digital Pay and RuPay in February 2024. This program assists tourists, Indian students, and diaspora communities with instant payments while also promoting financial inclusion and decreasing the reliance on hard currency.
- Singapore: The UPI-Singapore connectivity was celebrated at a virtual ceremony in February 2023, marking the link between Indian and Singaporean merchants to facilitate cross-border payments without interruptions, thus further consolidating India’s position as a regional digital integration leader.
Why India Is Taking UPI Global
The Indian digital payments ecosystem is not just a model for developing countries, but is currently being replicated all over the world. The administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted UPI as a pioneering, cost-effective, and scalable fintech infrastructure model. The internationalisation campaign goal is to:
- Firstly, remittances of the Indian diaspora should become cheaper and quicker.
- Secondly, Indian travelers, students, and businesses should get global support.
- Thirdly, foreign merchants and consumers should receive interoperable, real-time payment options.
- Lastly, India should gain more influence over the setting up of global digital economy standards.
From the perspective of host countries, online pay is a starting point for digital public infrastructure which provides a model that blends seamlessly with local systems to drive financial inclusion.
UPI Transaction Trends: India Leads, the World Follows
In India, the acceptance of Digital Pay is nothing less than spectacular. In September 2025 alone, UPI was the platform for 19.63 billion transactions, whose total value amounted to ₹24.9 trillion. So, even though the transaction volume had a slight decrease relative to August (20.01 billion), the growth year-on-year is still very impressive: UPI recorded a 31% increase in volume and a 21% rise in value compared to September 2024.
This is really consistent with the trust of the users, who allow UPI to be their safe, efficient, and reliable digital payment platform.
The Road Ahead: UPI as a Global Payments Standard
International launches only add to the stature of UPI as not only an Indian success story but also as a global benchmark in digital finance. The world benefits from the lessons which India’s UPI sets in innovation, inclusion, and efficiency – all these qualities are now being taken to new markets.
It is interesting to note that countries like Qatar, France, Singapore, and the UAE are only the first to sign up and there will be many more countries that will accept UPI’s interoperable, user-friendly model in the future.
