Oman among 10 countries where NRIs can make UPI payment soon
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in Oman and nine other countries will soon be able to access the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) using their international mobile numbers.
Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in 10 countries can access UPI services for transactions without having to depend on their India phone number, according to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Wednesday.
Besides Oman, the other countries are Singapore, US, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and UK.
According to the National Payments Corporation of India, accounts like NRE/NRO (Non Resident External and Non resident Ordinary) with international mobile numbers can transact using UPI.
The NPCI has given partner banks time till April 30 to comply with the directions.
An NRE account helps NRIs transfer foreign earnings to India, while an NRO account helps them manage the income earned in India.
The only conditions are that banks ensure such accounts are allowed according to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations, follow the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and guard against money laundering or terror financing.
A cabinet committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a INR2,600 crore scheme for promoting RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions.
The big UPI move will help international students, family living abroad and local businesses, said officials working in the sector.
Under the scheme, banks will be provided financial incentives for promoting transactions using RuPay and UPI.
“India’s strides in digital payments will be further strengthened by today’s Cabinet decision regarding promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and BHIM-UPI transactions,” PM Modi said in a tweet on Wednesday.
All about UPI
UPI is an instant real-time payment system, which is now processing more peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions than peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, in volume terms. The transaction is done through mobile in easy steps. Besides, there are no charges applicable for UPI transactions.
UPI was earlier mostly used for P2P transactions. However, the trend has reversed in the last two years since the COVID-related restrictions. Now, it is the most preferred payment mode for P2M transactions.
