International use of UPI surges, 6 lakh transactions in first 4 months of FY26
According to data provided by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in response to a written question in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the total number of cross-border UPI transactions performed so far in this fiscal till July is 6.01 lakh. In all of 2024-25, the number of these transactions stood at 7.55 lakh.
In value terms, cross-border UPI transactions worth Rs 169.29 crore have been performed so far in this fiscal compared to Rs 258.53 crore last year, data provided by Chaudhary showed. Should the current monthly rate hold, the number and value of cross-border UPI transactions could rise to 18 lakh and Rs 508 crore, respectively, for the full year.
The use of UPI for international payments had sharply increased in 2024-25, when the number of transactions had jumped 20-fold and their value by 13 times compared to 2023-24, when a total of 37,060 transactions worth Rs 19.7 crore were performed.
'The Government, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have been working towards linking UPI with the FPSs of other countries to facilitate cross-border payments. Presently, UPI is live in 7 countries i.e. UAE, Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore, Mauritius, France and Sri Lanka,' Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.
FPS refers to a fast-payment system such as the UPI.
Back in February 2023, Singapore became the first country with which Indians could make cross-border person-to-person payments following the linking of UPI with Singapore's own fast-payment system PayNow. Since then, UPI has become operational in six other countries.
Linking of fast-payment systems is a key way of cutting down on time and cost inefficiencies in cross-border payments. Towards this, the RBI last year joined Project Nexus of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a global organisation of central banks. Project Nexus looks to standardise the manner in which fast-payment systems connect to each other. This, according to the BIS, could 'significantly accelerate the growth of instant cross-border payments'.
In addition to linking the UPI with other countries' fast-payment systems, India is also helping nations without such systems build their own. These include Namibia, Trinidad & Tobago, and Peru.
To be sure, use of the UPI for cross-border payments is still at a fairly nascent stage and is dwarfed by its use domestically. As per latest RBI data, just in the first 10 days of August, as many as 678 crore UPI transactions have been made worth a total of Rs 9.04 lakh crore.
Siddharth Upasani is a Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. He reports primarily on data and the economy, looking for trends and changes in the former which paint a picture of the latter. Before The Indian Express, he worked at Moneycontrol and financial newswire Informist (previously called Cogencis). Outside of work, sports, fantasy football, and graphic novels keep him busy.
... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
5 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
12,000 trains to be operated in Bihar during Diwali, Chhath: Ashwini Vaishnaw
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday announced that 12,000 trains will be operated for Bihar on the occasion of Diwali and Chhath festivals. This announcement comes after he held discussions with the Bihar NDA leaders. The railways minister said that a Vande Bharat train will be started between Purnia and Patna.(Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times) Four Amrit Bharat trains will be launched to connect Delhi and Gaya, Saharsa to Amritsar, Chhapra to Delhi and Muzaffarpur to Hyderabad, the railway minister said, adding that a Vande Bharat train will be started between Purnia and Patna. "It was decided that 12,000 special trains will be run for the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals. 12,000 special trains so that passengers do not face any kind of inconvenience on these two big festivals... Those who will travel between 13th and 26th October and return between 17th November and 1st December will be given confirmed tickets, and a 20% discount will be given on the return journey. This experiment is also being done during this festival season," Vaishnaw said. In a post on X, Vaishnaw said that a special Buddha Circuit Train will be launched from Vaishali to Koderma, connecting key heritage destinations related to Lord Buddha. Earlier today, Vaishnaw said that the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha, is a significant bill aimed at regulating online gaming, recognising its growing importance in the digital sector."The bill identifies three segments within online gaming," the minister told reporters after the passage of the Bill in the Lok Sabha. The Minister said that E-sports are rapidly gaining prominence and will receive legal recognition. Online social games, which are played without monetary stakes are also to be promoted for family and friendly interaction. "Online money games, which have become a major societal concern due to addiction and financial losses, leading to extreme cases, including suicides," the minister said. The World Health Organization has classified this as a public health issue termed "online gaming disorder", the minister said.
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Mohali MC plans mechanical cleaning of C-roads; Rs 25 crore development works on agenda
The Mohali Municipal Corporation is set to take a major step in city sanitation by introducing mechanical sweeping for C-roads (inner lanes). The proposal will be tabled in the MC meeting scheduled for August 22. Officials said the MC area, including villages, has a road length of 303.44 km, of which 101 km are C-roads. These will now be cleaned weekly by machines. The plan also includes lifting of dry leaves, with an estimated cost of Rs 4 crore over three years. The meeting will also consider development projects worth Rs 25 crore, including laying premix on main roads, installing iron grills, building new libraries, and upgrading community centres. Officials said these projects aim to strengthen Mohali's infrastructure and move the city towards a 'smart city' model. The agenda includes some table items regarding the boundary wall of the dumping collection centre near Sector 74, which has already faced protests from residents. Another proposal seeks to break the monopoly of private garbage collectors by hiring a professional company for door-to-door collection and segregation of waste. This, officials said, is the 'need of the hour'. However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from elected members. Deputy Mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi, former deputy mayor Manjit Singh Sethi, councillor Jasbir Singh Manku and Anuradha Anand, both Finance & Contract Committee members, announced their opposition. They said, 'The MC's experiment of mechanical sweeping on B-roads has already failed. When machines cannot clean B-roads, how can they work on narrow C-roads?' They added that in many villages falling under MC Mohali, C-roads are so congested that 'even a bicycle cannot pass'. The councillors also questioned the fate of existing MC employees who currently clean these 'C' roads. The August 22 meeting is expected to be crucial, with decisions impacting both sanitation and development across Mohali.
Indian Express
5 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Balganga dam project: HC upholds Tribunal order asking state authorities to pay Rs 303 cr to firm
In a setback to Maharashtra government and its authorities, the Bombay High Court earlier this month upheld the majority award passed by the arbitral tribunal in April 2019 that directed the authorities to pay Rs 303 crore to FA Enterprises, a private firm, towards unpaid bills for construction of Balganga dam. The HC through August 12 verdict restored the arbitral tribunal award related to the project of water supply to expanding areas of Navi Mumbai and for drinking and Industrial purposes. The copy of the order was made available on Wednesday. The HC observed 'findings of the Arbitral Tribunal are based on the materials on record and on a proper appreciation of evidence.' The two-judge bench noted that the majority award had held termination invalid as the firm had taken substantial steps to get forest land clearance. Therefore, there was 'no legal basis for the single-judge bench to have upset this finding.' Justice Karnik for the division bench recorded, 'We are satisfied that the view taken by the Arbitral Tribunal on the basis of the evidence on record is a plausible view. In such circumstances there was no scope for the Single Judge to have interfered with the award of the Arbitral Tribunal in the exercise of its jurisdiction under Section 34 of the of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.' In a meeting held in January, 2009 under the chairmanship of the then state Water Resources Development (WRD) Minister, it was decided to construct a dam on Balganga river, near Niphad village in Pen taluka of Raigad district to meet the drinking water needs of Navi Mumbai's growing population and industries. The CIDCO was to bear the capital cost for Dam development and would get ownership right over the water and construction was to be executed by the WRD through KIDC. In May, 2009, the KIDC issued a work order to FA enterprises for nearly Rs. 495 crore and in June, 2011, project cost was revised to Rs. 1, 220 crore, which was disputed by CIDCO, compelling it to form expert committees to ascertain the same. 'Due to continuous pressure from banking institutions,' the FA Enterprises in 2013 approached the HC, after which an arbitral panel comprising representatives of the authorities and the firm was formed. The HC appointed its presiding member. Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in August, 2015 filed a chargesheet against the firm and others for corruption and other irregularities. The next month, the private firm claimed an amount of Rs 536.56 crore, which the authorities opposed. In 2016, the KIDC terminated the contract of the private firm. Three out of five members of the tribunal in April, 2019 passed a majority award directing KIDC to pay to the private firm a sum of Rs 303 crore, prompting the authorities to challenge it before the High Court. The single-judge bench of the HC in May, 2020 set aside the majority award. Thereafter the aggrieved private firm moved the two-judge bench of HC with appeals against the May, 2020 judgement. Accepting submissions by senior advocate Aspi Chinoy for the firm, the HC on August 12 held that there was no 'patent illegality' in the award and the Tribunal's decision was a 'plausible view,' therefore the same required to be restored.
