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Bank of Baroda launches UPI Global Reverse Acceptance for foreign tourists
Bank of Baroda launches UPI Global Reverse Acceptance for foreign tourists
Bank of Baroda on Wednesday launched "UPI Global Reverse Acceptance," allowing foreign tourists to pay at Indian shops using their home-country payment apps without needing a local bank account or carrying cash.…
Bank of Baroda on Wednesday launched "UPI Global Reverse Acceptance," allowing foreign tourists to pay at Indian shops using their home-country payment apps without needing a local bank account or carrying cash. The service lets users from participating countries scan the bank's UPI QR codes at merchants across India and complete transactions instantly through their existing apps.
The system is part of NPCI International's efforts to make digital payments interoperable across borders. Visitors from Singapore, the UAE, the US, France, Qatar, and six other countries can use the service. For merchants, it opens access to international customers through existing UPI QR codes, expanding business opportunities.
Executive director Sanjay Mudaliar said the service enhances convenience for travelers and strengthens the bank's merchant acquiring franchise. UPI, launched in August 2016, has seen transaction value surge from Rs 0.07 lakh crore in FY17 to around Rs 314 lakh crore in FY26.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The RBI's 2023 circular on inbound cross-border payments already allowed non-resident wallets, but adoption remained low because individual banks had to build separate integrations. Bank of Baroda's tie-up with NPCI International centralises that process, turning every existing UPI QR code into a potential acceptance point for foreign wallets. For a merchant paying Rs 100 as a monthly QR rental, the incremental cost is zero. The real constraint will be how many foreign wallet providers sign on: the launch list of nine countries is small compared with India's 20 million-plus inbound tourists annually. NPCI International's existing bilateral pacts with Singapore's PayNow and UAE's Instant Payment Platform provide the technical template, but scaling to more countries depends on reciprocal arrangements where Indian UPI users also get similar access abroad.
The next milestone to watch is the number of foreign wallet apps that actually go live on the platform by the end of 2025.
Source: livemint.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
