MUMBAI: Through their non-resident external (NRE) accounts, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has made the UPI service available to overseas Indians in ten nations.
By allowing these countries' international phone numbers to be used for UPI onboarding, this has been made possible. Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom are the nations whose mobile numbers have been permitted to board the aircraft. The majority of the nations with an Indian diaspora are represented by these nations. By April 30, 2023, banks must be equipped with the necessary customer enablement.
According to NPCI's circular, "we have been receiving requirement from the ecosystem with regards to NRI accounts and other permissible accounts having international numbers to transact in UPI" and "customer demand in the ecosystem to enable UPI for their non-resident account."
Vishwas Patel, chairman of the Payments Council of India and executive director of Infibeam Avenues, claims that the primary convenience factor would be "payment/money transfer convenience" for non-resident Indians when they visit India and can pay easily at millions of Indian merchants that accept UPI and avoid using their costly international cards.
According to Mandar Agashe, the founder and managing director of Sarvatra Technologies, "NRIs couldn't access the UPI network all these years because SIM binding, which is an important security feature of UPI, was only available to Indian SIM cards (phones)." Because mobile phones (SIMs) from so many countries can now be used, there will be a huge demand from non-resident aliens. They can now use UPI on the global mobile phones they already have. They will not only be able to use UPI when they travel to India, but they will also be able to start making instant transfers when UPI is available to merchants in their home country,” he added.
According to the NPCI, all banks should conduct all anti-money laundering checks and ensure that the accounts adhere to FEMA regulations.