Bank of Baroda (BoB), a public sector bank in India, has introduced ‘UPI Global QR Payments’ (UPI Global Reverse Acceptance) for international visitors and users of select foreign wallet or payment applications from eligible countries.
The service will allow tourists and overseas Indians to pay at Indian merchants by scanning Bank of Baroda’s UPI QR codes. Payments can be completed through banking or payment apps issued in the customer’s home country.
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The bank said the move is intended to reduce the need to carry cash or exchange foreign currency while travelling in India, Business Line reported.
BoB said the initiative will extend international QR payment acceptance across its merchant network. The bank added that it is designed to improve payment convenience for visitors and help merchants reach a wider customer base through BoB’s acquiring network.
According to the lender, UPI Global Reverse Acceptance enables cross-border person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions for visitors from countries that participate in NPCI International’s global payments ecosystem. BoB cited corridors including Singapore, the UAE, Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, the USA, Qatar and France, among others.
BoB executive director Sanjay Mudaliar said: “By enabling international visitors to make merchant payments through payment applications they already use and are familiar with, we are enhancing convenience for travellers while creating new business opportunities for our merchants.
“UPI Global Reverse Acceptance strengthens our merchant acquiring franchise.”
Launched in 2016 for domestic payments, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has expanded its international footprint as India pursues greater interoperability for digital payments.
UPI is currently operational in 11 countries: the United Arab Emirates, France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and the Maldives.
Last month, India and Indonesia agreed to link their digital payment systems to support faster cross-border transactions.
