Indian authorities are engaged in conversations with Ant International to explore linking Alipay+ with the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for international transactions, reported Reuters.
If an agreement is reached, Indian travellers could use UPI for transactions abroad wherever merchants accept Alipay+.
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No further details have been provided by officials regarding a possible timeline for any integration between UPI and Alipay+.
The service operates from Singapore as part of China’s Ant Group links 1.8 billion user accounts to more than 150 million merchants in over 100 countries and regions, according to The Economic Times.
Reuters said that Ant International has not responded to requests for comment on the ongoing talks.
The discussions take place against the backdrop of prior restrictions imposed by New Delhi on a number of Chinese applications, reported The Times of India.
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By GlobalDataIn November 2020, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act to block access to 43 Chinese-origin apps, including Alipay Cashier, AliExpress, and WeWorkChina.
Earlier that year, bans were also imposed on apps such as TikTok, WeChat, UC Browser, PUBG Mobile, and Baidu.
At that time, an official statement from MeitY said: “This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.
“The government issued the order for blocking the access of these apps by users in India based on the ‘comprehensive reports’ received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, Ministry of Home Affairs.”
