NPCI’s international arm partners with Singapore fintech to expand UPI

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has partnered with Singapore-based payment infrastructure firm HitPay to expand the acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the Southeast Asian country.

This is the second major partnership in Singapore after the launch of the UPI-PayNow linkage, which enables Indians to receive remittances directly into their bank accounts between India and Singapore.

UPI is India’s homegrown real-time payments system, operated by the NPCI.

The apex payments body said UPI acceptance will be progressively rolled out to over 12,000 merchants in Singapore. These merchants will be able to offer Indian users both online and offline UPI payment options.

“We are focused on expanding UPI’s global presence to make transactions easier for Indians travelling abroad. Our partnership with HitPay expands UPI acceptance in Singapore, offering Indians a reliable, cost-effective payment option during their travel. This collaboration also highlights our commitment to building a globally connected payments ecosystem,” said Ritesh Shukla, chief executive officer, NPCI International.

NIPL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the NPCI, is tasked with deploying India’s UPI and RuPay card scheme internationally.

“By offering Indian travellers a smooth, familiar and affordable payment option, this initiative enhances their experience while also deepening economic and technological connections between India and other countries,” said Aditya Haripurkar, chief executive officer and co-founder, HitPay.

Last month, NIPL partnered with United Arab Emirates-based fintech firm Magnati to enable QR-based UPI merchant payments through point-of-sale terminals across the UAE.

Currently, UPI payments are accepted in seven countries, including Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and France. More than 20 apps, including BHIM, PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay, support international transactions.

In December, Shukla revealed that NIPL was working with countries such as the UAE and Mauritius to help develop a card scheme similar to RuPay.

NIPL is also targeting international use cases such as peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, mirroring UPI’s offerings in India. For P2P transactions, NIPL employs a two-pronged strategy involving bilateral and multilateral efforts.

The multilateral approach includes initiatives such as Project Nexus under the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

The BIS Innovation Hub, in collaboration with the central banks of India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, is working on connecting instant payment systems of different countries through Project Nexus.