UPI opens Nepal flood-relief donations to Indian users
UPI International is enabling Indian users to donate to Nepal’s Prime Minister Disaster Relief Fund through authorised cross-border payment gateways, extending its Nepal use case beyond tourist merchant payments.
What happened
UPI International is being used for the first time in a foreign government relief appeal, enabling Indian users to donate to Nepal’s Prime Minister Disaster
Key facts
- UPI crossed 100,000 transactions in Nepal within six months of acceptance in August 2024
- India-Nepal cross-border UPI payments went live in March 2024
- Nepal floods have claimed nearly 1,000 lives and left about 4,000 people missing
- UPI International can be activated for a particular country for one week
Why this matters
Payments, banking and NGO partners should view Nepal’s donation corridor as a template for integrating UPI into government and humanitarian payment flows across other markets.
What to watch
- NPCI International and Nepal Rastra Bank announcements on new UPI payment categories or participating apps.
- Donation transaction volumes, average ticket size, failure rates and settlement speed for the relief fund.
- Expansion of UPI QR acceptance among Nepal hotels, transport, attractions and organized retail.
- Changes to cross-border UPI transaction caps, FX treatment, KYC rules or tax reporting.
- Competing wallet, card or bilateral QR-payment initiatives targeting Indian travellers in Nepal.
- Nepal payment acquirers and tourism merchants should increase UPI QR deployment, especially in border cities and Indian visitor corridors.
- Indian banks and UPI apps should surface verified Nepal institutional-payee flows with clear FX, limits and receipt disclosures.
- Retailers serving Indian tourists should pair UPI acceptance with INR-facing pricing, localized offers and digital refund support.
- Payments providers should pursue additional verified government, education, healthcare and travel-payment categories to build transaction frequency beyond donations.