UPI Continues To Grow Globally

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has formed a partnership with payments solutions provider PayXpert to expand the acceptance of its payment solutions in the United Kingdom.

UPI, an indigenously developed real-time payments solution, will make its first foray into the UK market, beginning with QR code-based transactions.

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has formed a partnership with payments solutions provider PayXpert to expand the acceptance of its payment solutions in the United Kingdom.

NIPL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which created the world's largest real-time payment solution, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), as well as the RuPay card scheme. 

"Through this collaboration, Indian payment solutions will be available in the UK on all PayXpert's android point-of-sale (POS) devices for in-store payments, beginning with UPI-based QR code payments and later integrating the option for RuPay card payments," NPCI said in a release on Thursday.

UPI is one of the most successful Real-Time Payments (RTP) systems in the world, with a volume of USD 940 billion (39 billion transactions) in 2021, equal to 31% of India's GDP. RuPay is India's first domestically developed global card payment network, with more than 70 crore (700 million) cards issued to date.

According to David Armstrong, Managing Director of PayXpert in the UK, the company's entry into UPI and RuPay will open up a new field of opportunity in the UK. According to him, it will strengthen the capability of the company's solution for UK merchants. According to the NPCI, over 5 lakh Indians, including over 1 lakh students, visit the UK each year.

This figure is expected to rise exponentially in the coming years, according to the report. The collaboration will provide Indian travellers with a familiar and convenient method of making payments in the UK.

Bhutan will be the first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface standards for NPCI's QR deployment in July 2021, and the only country to accept RuPay cards. Earlier this year, the UPI expanded into another neighbouring country, Nepal, in an effort to boost real-time digital transactions.