Dubai: NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the International arm of National Payment Corporation of India has partnered with Mashreq to offer acceptance of its mobile-based real-time payment system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in the UAE.
UPI is an instant real-time payment system developed by National Payments Corporation of India facilitating inter-bank transactions.
This partnership will enable over 2 million Indians who travel to UAE for business or leisure purposes every year to pay for their purchases seamlessly using UPI-based mobile applications across shops and merchant stores in the UAE.
A digital payment push
The strategic tie-up between the two entities will provide a considerable boost to the digital payment ecosystem in the UAE and will prove to be a major stepping stone for the wider reach of UPI in the international markets.
Given the position of UAE as an international commerce and tourism hub, retail merchants in the Emirates always enable the latest payment methods that are expected by our international clients.
From a Mashreq perspective, the initiative is very timely as there is growing appetite amongst customers and retailers to leverage mobile-based payment systems. The bank has witnessed 20 per cent month on month growth in pick-up rate as young and tech-savvy customers seek to use the mobile payment systems along with a growing number of retailers across the UAE that accept such transactions.
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. The simple, safe, cost-effective mobile-based payments system has become one of the most prominent forms of digital payments. In 2020, UPI allowed transactions worth USD 457 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 15 per cent of India’s GDP.
"The partnership will enable consumers from India to transact seamlessly using NPCI’s world-renowned UPI platform and deliver a seamless user experience. We look forward to attaining new highs with this partnership in the important and strategic market of the UAE," said Ritesh Shukla, CEO, NIPL
