New Delhi: Indian tourists, business travellers and students visiting Uzbekistan can now make instant cross-border merchant payments using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), marking a major expansion of India’s digital payments network.
NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has entered into a commercial agreement with the National Interbank Processing Centre JSC (NIPC), operator of Uzbekistan’s national payment system HUMO.
The agreement, signed on August 30, enables Indian UPI users to scan Uzbekistan’s national interoperable QR code, UZQR, through their existing UPI-enabled applications and make direct payments to merchants.
The initiative was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral visit to Uzbekistan. The integration received regulatory approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU), with HUMO designated as NIPL’s authorised partner for cross-border merchant acceptance.
By integrating UPI with Uzbekistan’s Unified National QR infrastructure, Indian users are expected to gain broad acceptance across retail outlets, hotels, restaurants and other service establishments.
The facility will allow travellers to make person-to-merchant (P2M) payments directly from their Indian bank accounts. It is expected to reduce dependence on cash and international cards while helping users avoid some of the friction associated with foreign exchange payments.
The partnership also strengthens digital public infrastructure cooperation between India and Uzbekistan and supports wider economic and technological ties between the two countries.
UPI’s International Footprint Expands
Uzbekistan becomes part of India’s growing network of countries supporting UPI-based international payments.
The Maldives recently became the ninth country to announce the successful launch of integration between its Maldives Instant Payment System, Favara, and UPI. The system enables real-time fund transfers between the Maldives and India, with transactions initiated in Maldivian Rufiyaa and credited to recipients in Indian Rupees.
UPI is now accepted in several international markets, including Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Greece and Uzbekistan, giving Indian travellers increasingly convenient options for digital payments abroad.
