Indians with their growing travel aspirations are seeking to make most of this winter holiday season, especially with Christmas and New year celebrations on the card.

What can prove useful to every Indian itching to unwind with closed ones is to know in advance whether the south Asian nation’s hallmark fintech innovation UPI will come in handy.

UPI allows travellers to make international transactions using mobile payment service apps like Gpay, Paytm , BHIM, and PhonePe. There are numerous merchants across countries that accept these QR-scanned payments.

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) is presently engaged in making it easier for Indian nationals to experience hassle-free payment process when on vacation.

Step-by-step guide to use UPI for international transactions

To check if a merchant accepts UPI, travelers can look for the BHIM UPI logo at the outlet or confirm with the cashier

To activate UPI for international use open your UPI app

Browse to the profile section

Select personal bank account, search for “UPI International” or “UPI Global.”

Enable this feature by selecting a validity period and inserting your UPI PIN. This activation is specific to each app. If you use multiple UPI apps linked to the same bank account, you need to activate this feature separately on each app.

International travel hotspots that accept UPI

Mauritius

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Mauritius

Bhutan

Nepal

UAE

France allows UPI payments only at specific e-commerce, retail outlets

Validity of UPi payments abroad

Validity of international UPI payments is functional for 90 days. Apps like BHIM allow users to customise this validity period.

Travelers can deactivate the feature at any time by following similar steps used for activation.

Transaction limits and fees

Limits: Daily transaction limits for international payments are aligned with domestic limits, generally up to ₹1 lakh. For Europe, this limit increases to ₹2 lakh.

Charges: While UPI itself does not charge a fee for international payments, banks may levy a foreign exchange markup fee.

 

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