The international branch of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), has teamed with Mashreq, one of the UAE’s top financial institutions, to offer acceptance of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the UAE.
UPI is a real-time payment system designed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to facilitate inter-bank transactions. This cooperation, it said in a statement, will allow over 2 million Indians who visit the UAE for business or pleasure to pay for their purchases using UPI-based mobile applications in UAE shops and merchant outlets.
The strategic partnership between the two organizations will help to enhance the UAE’s digital payment ecosystem and will serve as a crucial stepping stone for UPI’s expansion into foreign markets.
The relationship with Mashreq Bank, according to Mr. Ritesh Shukla, Chief Executive Officer of NIPL, will enable Indian consumers to transact smoothly using NPCI’s UPI platform and provide a seamless user experience.
According to the release, UPI is one of the most popular real-time payment systems in the world, offering ease, safety, and security in both P2P and P2M transactions. UPI facilitated $457 billion worth of transactions in 2020, almost 15 percent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Mr. Kartik Taneja, executive vice-president (head of payments) at Mashreq Bank commented that “Innovation has been at the core of what Mashreq does, and we have a proud history of introducing omnichannel solutions that benefit our customers and the UAE’s economy. We are the first in this market to partner NIPL and offer cutting-edge mobile-based digital payments to our clients.”
