India's UPI digital payments now acceptable in Nepal: 5 key points

New Delhi: The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday announced to deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Nepal to bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P), person to merchant (P2M) and potential cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India.

Over the next few months, all three companies --NPCI International Payments Limited, Gateway Payments and Manam Infotech Private Limited--will work closely together to deploy UPI in Nepal. along with all the functionalities and features presently available in India.

Here are 5 key points you need to know about UPI payments platform in Nepal

1. NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) to Enable NPCI’s flagship Unified Payments Interface(UPI) platform in Nepal

2. This partnership will enable creation of real-time payments system in Nepal, leveraging NPCI’s technology to democratize payments and displace cash

3. It will also enable the way forward for real-time cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India.

4. Gateway Payment Service Pvt Ltd (GPS) shall run and manage UPI in Nepal as the Nepal Rastra Bank Authorized Payment System Operators

5. Manam Infotech Pvt Ltd shall provide the UPI Technology and Operations Support working closely with GPS in Nepal

UPI is amongst the most successful real-time payments (RTP) systems globally, providing – simplicity, safety, and security in person to person (P2P) and person to merchant (P2M) transactions in India, said NCPI release.

In 2021, UPI enabled 39 Billion financial transactions amounting to commerce worth USD 940 Billion, which is equivalent to approximately 31% of India’s GDP. UPI’s real-time payment infrastructure will help catalyze the process of financial inclusion in Nepal and will also create more opportunities for businesses. It will help modernize Nepal’s digital payment infrastructure and bring the convenience of digital payments to citizens of Nepal, NCPI added.