The National Payments Corporation of India's international arm, NPCI International (NIPL), has enabled Indian tourists, business travellers, and students to use UPI for seamless merchant payments in Uzbekistan by scanning the country's interoperable QR code, UZQR.
On August 30, NIPL signed a commercial agreement with the National Interbank Processing Centre JSC (NIPC), which manages Uzbekistan's national payment system, HUMO, marking a major expansion of UPI's international reach.
This partnership permits Indian users to pay merchants instantly across Uzbekistan through familiar UPI apps by scanning the UZQR code.
The announcement coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral visit to Uzbekistan and followed approvals from the Reserve Bank of India and Uzbekistan's Central Bank, which authorised HUMO as NIPL's cross-border payment partner.
By integrating with the Central Bank of Uzbekistan's mandated Unified National QR infrastructure, UPI users can access wide acceptance across retail, hospitality, and services sectors nationwide.
Indian travellers can now make direct person-to-merchant payments from their Indian bank accounts, sidestepping foreign exchange fees and the need for international cards or cash.
This move strengthens digital infrastructure cooperation and aligns with the strategic economic objectives shared by India and Uzbekistan.
Recently, the Maldives became the ninth country to integrate its Instant Payment System, Favara, with UPI, enabling real-time fund transfers between Maldivian Rufiyaa and Indian Rupees.
With this addition, UPI is accepted in 10 countries worldwide, including Singapore, UAE, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Greece, facilitating smoother payments for Indian travellers abroad.
