UPI Payments In Uzbekistan: Indian Travellers To Get QR-Based Payment Option

Indian travellers heading to Uzbekistan will soon be able to use UPI-enabled apps to make payments at local shops and businesses by scanning the country's national QR code, UZQR.

The facility will be introduced through a new partnership between NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Uzbekistan's National Interbank Processing Centre JSC (NIPC).

NIPL, the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), signed the commercial agreement with NIPC on August 30, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The arrangement will enable Indian UPI users to make instant person-to-merchant (P2M) payments across Uzbekistan without relying primarily on cash or international cards.

Under the partnership, NIPC's HUMO has been appointed as NIPL's authorised partner for accepting cross-border merchant payments.

The integration with Uzbekistan's Unified National QR infrastructure, mandated by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU), is expected to provide UPI users with broad acceptance across retail outlets, hotels and service businesses.

Indian users will be able to make payments directly from their Indian bank accounts while in Uzbekistan.

The system is also expected to reduce the inconvenience associated with carrying foreign currency and paying international card-related foreign exchange markups.

Agreement Follows Regulatory Approvals

The partnership was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral visit to Uzbekistan.

It follows approvals from financial regulators in both countries, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

The agreement marks another step in expanding India's digital payments infrastructure beyond the country.

It also adds to growing cooperation between India and Uzbekistan in the area of digital public infrastructure.

UPI Expands Global Footprint

With the latest arrangement, Uzbekistan is set to join the expanding international network of UPI-enabled payments.

According to the Ministry, UPI is currently accepted in 10 countries — Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Greece.

The expansion is aimed at making overseas payments simpler for Indians while travelling and reducing their dependence on cash and international payment cards.

The NIPL-NIPC partnership is expected to strengthen cross-border payment connectivity between India and Uzbekistan and make digital transactions more accessible for Indian visitors.