PhonePe to enter UAE in first overseas push after securing two central-bank licences

PhonePe plans to launch UAE operations with licences covering wallets, gift cards and merchant payment acceptance. The move could support domestic UAE payments and India-UAE remittances, extending the Indian payments app into its first international market.

— Source publishedWed, 9 Sept, 2026, 19:12 IST·First seen Wed, 9 Sept, 2026, 19:24 IST·Source Business Standard · Companies

What happened

India’s largest UPI app PhonePe will launch local UAE operations after securing two central-bank licences for wallets, gift cards and merchant payment

Key facts

  • Two licences from the Central Bank of the UAE
  • First foreign market

Why this matters

Banks, acquirers, remittance firms and retail platforms in the UAE have a partnership opportunity to connect PhonePe’s India-UAE payment flows with local wallet and acceptance infrastructure.

What to watch

  • Formal launch date, product scope and whether UAE consumers can open PhonePe wallets directly.
  • Named UAE banking, acquiring, remittance or payment-network partners.
  • Evidence of UPI-UAE rail interoperability, cross-border QR acceptance or AED-INR settlement capability.
  • Merchant onboarding pace and any announced anchor retail, travel, airline or supermarket partnerships.
  • Pricing for remittances, FX conversion and merchant discount rates relative to incumbent providers.
  • Additional licences in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Singapore or other diaspora-heavy corridors.
  • Regulatory disclosures clarifying the exact permissions, customer-fund safeguarding model and cross-border data requirements.
  • Launch a UAE legal entity, local compliance stack and AED settlement partnerships with banks or licensed remittance providers.
  • Secure merchant-acquiring integrations and onboard Indian-owned retailers, travel operators, grocery chains and hospitality merchants.
  • Build India-UAE remittance products, likely emphasizing transparent FX, rapid settlement and PhonePe user identity continuity.
  • Pursue interoperability arrangements involving UPI, UAE payment rails, QR schemes or card-network tokenization.
  • Use gift-card and wallet products to acquire consumers before attempting a broader everyday-payments proposition.
  • Evaluate follow-on Gulf expansion markets where Indian diaspora density and remittance volumes justify localized licensing.