PM Modi calls for UPI expansion across India’s trade partners
At Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, PM Modi said UPI has been central to India’s fintech growth and urged wider adoption in countries that trade with India, building on payment interoperability initiatives such as India-Singapore.
What happened
PM Modi highlighted UPI as a key driver of India’s fintech growth at Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, urging expansion into countries India trades with. He cited
Key facts
- UPI completed 10 years on 25 August
- Around 50,000 UPI transactions during the venue session
- India GDP growth of 7.8% in the April-June quarter
- India sovereign rating upgraded to A category after 30 years
- Development projects worth more than ₹35,000 crore in Vadodara
Why this matters
Payments, fintech and commerce companies should evaluate partnerships in India-linked trade corridors where UPI interoperability can accelerate merchant acceptance and customer acquisition.
What to watch
- New NPCI International bilateral interoperability agreements and live merchant-acquiring launches.
- Reserve Bank of India and partner-country rules on FX conversion, merchant settlement, transaction limits and dispute resolution.
- UPI acceptance announcements from major acquirers, POS providers, travel retailers, airports and regional e-commerce platforms.
- Growth in Indian outbound travel and Indian cross-border online purchasing in participating corridors.
- Merchant discount rate economics versus card acceptance costs and any government-funded consumer or merchant incentives.
- Evidence that UPI expansion includes business payments, not only peer-to-peer or tourist QR transactions.
- Prioritize UPI acceptance capability for stores, apps and checkout flows serving Indian tourists, especially in Gulf, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and other high-traffic corridors.
- Ask payment service providers whether their roadmap supports UPI QR acceptance, real-time FX disclosure, refunds, chargeback handling and settlement in local currency.
- Instrument checkout analytics to identify Indian-issued cards, UPI-linked payment attempts and abandonment caused by cross-border payment or FX friction.
- Develop India-targeted omni-channel promotions that connect UPI payment incentives to loyalty enrollment, duty-free, travel retail and cross-border e-commerce fulfillment.
- Review fraud, sanctions, KYC, data-residency and tax controls before enabling cross-border QR payment acceptance.