The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has allowed UPI platforms to onboard non-resident account holders from ten countries with certain conditions.
With this, non-resident Indians (NRIs) can make use of the UPI facility with their international numbers. So far, they required an Indian number to use the third-party apps.
NRIs residing in countries Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, USA, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom can utilise this option. As per the NPCI circular, those with NRE or NRO accounts can register and transact on UPI with their international numbers if they meet certain conditions.
- The first condition is that member banks must ensure NRE or NRO accounts are allowed only as per the extant FEMA regulations
- They adhere to the guidelines of concerned departments of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- The remitter and beneficiary banks must check anti-money laundering/ financing of terrorism criteria.
- They have to make sure that the accounts comply with the rules.
- Above all, the NRIs must have NRE or NRO accounts to access the service.
The facility will help NRIs when they travel to India. They just have to link their NRE or NRO accounts connected to their international SIM to UPI. Once it is done, they can use it for merchant payment as well as peer-to-peer payments. In India, UPI is redefining the payment industry. In December 2022, payments made via UPI registered a record high of Rs 12.82 lakh crore.
