Explained: How NRIs will be able to make payments via UPI

There’s good news for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Sending money back home or making merchant payments will be hassle-free, as the ‘Made in India’ real-time payments solution the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will now be available to Indians living abroad.In a circular, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, announced that it instructed members of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem to allow non-resident account types such as non-resident external (NRE)/ non-resident ordinary (NRO) accounts having international mobile numbers to get onboarded and transact through UPI.How will NRIs make use of this facility? We have all the answers for you.How will it work?Presently, for a person to have an UPI ID, he/she needed an Indian mobile number. When a user activates UPI from an app, for instance Paytm, the app sends an SMS confirming that the mobile number is linked to the bank. This meant that those abroad had to keep their India numbers, which is exorbitant owing to international roaming prices.The NPCI said that now users will be able to access UPI without relying on their India mobile phone number.In their statement the NPCI said, “We have been receiving requirement from the (UPI) ecosystem with regards to the non-resident accounts and other permissible accounts having international numbers to be allowed to transact in UPI.”“And there has been customer demand in the ecosystem to enable UPI...and experience the seamless and instant journey of UPI.”NRIs who wish to avail this facility need to have a NRE or NRO account. For the unversed, an NRE account is a bank account opened in India in the name of an NRI, to park his foreign earnings whereas, an NRO account is a bank account opened in India in the name of an NRI to manage the income earned by him/her in India.The only conditions to enable such a facility will be that member banks will need to ensure the UPI account is only allowed as “per the extant Foreign Exchange Management Actr (FEMA) egulations and adherence to the guidelines/instructions issued by the concerned regulatory departments of Reserve Bank of India from time to time.”Moreover, all the “necessary Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/ Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CT) checks and compliance validation/account level validations as per the extent” need to be applicable to these bank accounts.Also read: How Indian travellers can now use UPI to make payments in EuropeWho will the facility be available to?Presently, NRIs in 10 countries will be able to use UPI for payments. According to the NPCI, the countries where the facility will be available is: Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, USA, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom.When will the facility begin?UPIs for NRIs will commence shortly. All 382 member banks of NPCI have been asked to ensure that all non-resident account types are onboarded by 30 April.UPI’s success storySince its launch in 2016, the UPI system has gained massive popularity. According to data, UPI recorded over 7.82 billion transactions worth Rs 12.82 trillion in December 2022.The system began with 21 banks in 2016 and today has expanded to 381 banks, enabling billions of digital transactions each month.[caption id="attachment_11972192" align="alignnone" width="640"]

Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption]Data shows that PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm remain the big guns in the ecosystem, with the entry of newer players such as CRED, Amazon Pay and WhatsApp Pay.According to industry experts, over the next 12 months, the UPI will continue to see steady growth and a maturity of the system.With the international expansion of the technology and the upcoming credit card linkage, UPI is expected to further consolidate its position in the world as the leading digital payment technology.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.