Are you a PhonePe user? Are you traveling to the UAE? Then this news is for you. PhonePe App users can now use the PhonePe App to make payments using UPI across a wide array of retail stores, dining outlets, and tourist and leisure attractions in the UAE. They need to scan the QR code for the payments. These transactions are facilitated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
This collaboration is facilitated through Mashreq Bank’s (a major bank in the UAE) partnership with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL). Through this partnership, Mashreq has enabled NEOPAY terminals (the merchant service arm of Mashreq Bank) to accept UPI apps as a payment instrument, thus allowing Indian travelers to conveniently use UPI for transactions.
NRIs with UAE mobile numbers can also download the PhonePe App and link their existing Non-Resident External (NRE) and Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) accounts to facilitate payments. NRE and NRO accounts are used by NRIs to manage their "foreign investments in India." This aims to enhance the ease and convenience of transactions for the Indian diaspora in the UAE, according to a company statement.
Ritesh Pai, CEO of International Payments at PhonePe, said, “With this partnership, customers can now transact through UPI, a payment method they are familiar with. This collaboration opens doors to seamless transactions, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable journey for visitors.”
Vibhor Mundhada, CEO of NEOPAY at Mashreq, added, “We are delighted to collaborate with PhonePe to offer yet another new payment solution for Indian tourists and visitors in the UAE, helping further cement the already strong financial relations between the two countries.”
PhonePe will also introduce inward remittance services once the corridor for inward remittances is enabled. Inward remittance is basically the transfer of money from abroad to India.
Other payment merchants, such as Google Pay and Paytm, are already available in India. In January of this year, Google Pay allowed UPI services to users travelling abroad. The countries include the UAE, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the USA, Saudi Arabia, and the UK.
In February this year, India and the UAE signed a MoU where they decided to have a settled framework through which both countries can make use of local currencies to settle transactions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan also introduced UPI in Abu Dhabi.
India has a huge UPI transaction base within the country. “India is the country with the highest digital transaction, accounting for nearly 46 per cent share, as per the 2022 data,” reads a press release by PIB. The country has been also trying to make its UPI go global. Sri Lanka, Mauritius, France, the UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal are the countries that accept UPI.
