The RBI on Tuesday said travellers from G20 countries arriving at Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi international airports can get Prepaid Payment Instruments wallets linked to UPI for making payments to over five crore merchant outlets across India. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank made an announcement regarding allowing access to UPI to foreign nationals and NRIs visiting India.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 08, 2023, a facility to enable all in-bound travellers visiting India to make local payments using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) while they are in India. This facility is made available from today.
PM of India @narendramodi and PM of Singapore @leehsienloong to witness launch of #UPI–#PayNow linkage between the two countries by Governor @DasShaktikanta and MD @MAS_sg on February 21, 2023 at 11.00 am.
Live at: https://t.co/HGfgHw9J6s#RBI #RBIGovernor #RBItoday #PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/VYOA6bk4va
— ReserveBankOfIndia (@RBI) February 20, 2023
To start with, it is available to travellers from G-20 countries, at select international airports (Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi). Eligible travellers would be issued Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) wallets linked to UPI for making payments at merchant outlets. Delegates from G20 countries can also avail this facility at various meeting venues. To begin with, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank and two non-bank PPI issuers, Pine Labs Private Limited and Transcorp International Limited will issue UPI linked wallets.
Travellers visiting India can now experience the convenience of UPI payments at over five crore merchant outlets across India, that accept QR Code-based UPI payments.
The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).
Payment transactions through UPI rose 1.3 per cent on-month to a high of nearly INR 13 lakh crore in January. Prepaid payment instruments’ examples include smart cards, online accounts, online wallets, stripe cards, paper vouchers, etc. The primary objective of these instruments is to get access to the amount already prepaid.