PhonePe secures UAE payments licence, opening path to merchant acquiring and forex

PhonePe has received a UAE retail payments licence to acquire merchants, deploy PoS devices and offer foreign-exchange services. The move would extend its cross-border payments presence from UPI acceptance for Indian travellers to local merchant-payment infrastructure; an operating launch date was not disclosed.

— FiledWed, 9 Sept, 2026, 21:33 IST·First seen Wed, 9 Sept, 2026, 21:32 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

PhonePe received a UAE retail payments licence to acquire merchants, deploy PoS devices and offer forex services. It also expanded feature-phone UPI, launched

Key facts

  • First international licence from the Central Bank of the UAE
  • UPI acceptance at Mashreq NEOPAY terminals began in March 2024
  • PhonePe payments available for Indian travellers in 9 overseas markets
  • Estimated 250 million Indians without smartphones
  • Pulse data platform has operated for 6 years
  • Visa Cross Border Scan to Pay covers 14 markets

Why this matters

PhonePe’s move makes UAE payments infrastructure a more relevant partnership or competitive battleground for banks, acquirers, PoS providers and forex platforms.

What to watch

  • Disclosed launch date, first acquiring merchant, terminal deployment count or UAE transaction-volume targets.
  • Named UAE bank, acquirer, processor, fintech or major retail partnership.
  • Confirmation of direct scheme/payment-rail connectivity versus reliance on a local acquiring partner.
  • Details on forex permissions, pricing and whether FX is integrated into traveller payment journeys.
  • Merchant vertical concentration: tourist-heavy pilots would indicate a corridor-led strategy; broad SME onboarding would indicate a full acquiring push.
  • Rival responses from Network International, Magnati, banks, PayTabs, Telr and Indian payment competitors expanding Gulf acceptance.
  • Evidence that UPI acceptance converts into lower-cost merchant acquisition or meaningful repeat spend from Indian visitors and residents.
  • Announce a UAE operating entity, senior local payments hires and sponsor-bank or settlement-bank partnerships.
  • Pilot merchant acquiring with Indian-frequented verticals including duty-free, hotels, restaurants, grocery, remittance corridors and travel operators.
  • Bundle UPI acceptance with PhonePe-branded or white-label PoS, QR acceptance, payment links and merchant onboarding tools.
  • Introduce INR-AED FX, traveller wallets or remittance-adjacent offerings where regulatory permissions allow.
  • Seek integrations with UAE payment infrastructure and regional schemes to serve non-Indian consumer payment methods.
  • Use UAE merchant relationships as a launchpad for GCC expansion or corridor-specific products for Indian travellers and diaspora businesses.

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