NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) and Uzbekistan’s National Interbank Processing Centre (NIPC) have entered into a commercial partnership to enable UPI payments across Uzbekistan through the country’s interoperable QR network, UZQR.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is India’s real-time payments platform that enables instant money transfers between bank accounts through mobile devices. It connects hundreds of Indian banks via a single interface and currently processes more than 18 billion transactions each month in India.
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The agreement will allow Indian travellers to use their UPI-enabled apps to scan UZQR codes and make instant payments to merchants across Uzbekistan.
The announcement was made during the bilateral visit of the Prime Minister of India to Uzbekistan.
The deal was signed after receiving regulatory clearances from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, which has designated HUMO as NIPL’s authorised partner for cross-border merchant acceptance.
Through the integration with Uzbekistan’s Unified National QR infrastructure, UPI users are set to gain broad merchant acceptance across retail, hospitality and service establishments.
The arrangement will enable Indian tourists, business travellers and students to make person-to-merchant payments directly from their Indian bank accounts, reducing reliance on cash and international cards.
The partnership also reflects wider cooperation between India and Uzbekistan in digital public infrastructure and supports the broader strategic and economic objectives of both countries.
UPI is currently accepted in ten countries: Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Greece.
In March this year, India widened the international reach of its UPI by formally extending the system to Israel.
Separately, Indian authorities have been in discussions with Ant International on a possible connection between Alipay+ and UPI for international transactions. If concluded, Indian travellers could use UPI abroad at merchants that accept Alipay+.
