Indians In Europe Will Soon Be Able To Pay Via UPI

Indians in the European Union (EU) will soon be able to make payments through the popular Unified Payments Interface. The development comes to light as NPCI struck a collaboration deal with EU payments facilitator Worldline.

The collaboration makes Worldline the first EU acquirer to offer UPI and RuPay (NPCI’s proprietary card payment network solution), to European merchants whilst providing an opportunity for them to build on their Indian customer base.

Worldline will bring more convenience for Indian customers in the European markets by allowing merchants’ point-of-sale (POS) systems to accept payments from UPI, an instant real-time payment system, as well as RuPay. 

The possibility of UPI is expected to result in a multitude of customer-related merchant benefits due to an increase in footfall and spending from Indian tourists.

Currently, customers from India pay through international card networks. However, the hugely popular United Payments Interface allows multiple bank accounts to be accessed through one single mobile application. This, in turn, will enhance customer experience whilst opening up new business prospects for merchants. 

In a statement, Marc-Henri Desportes, Deputy CEO of Worldline said, “Our analyses of international customers’ payment behaviour have indicated a push away from international card schemes in recent times, and a preference for any mobile payment method they are acquainted. Our partnership with NPCI International seeks to mitigate the risk of excluding or limiting Indian customers from safely using electronic payments in the EU.”

Facilitated via Worldline QR, the company’s universal product for the acceptance of all QR-based payments, the first target markets for NIPL are set to include BENELUX and Switzerland with further plans for expansion, as Worldline QR is rolled out in more European countries.

India is one of the most important tourist markets for Europe with an estimated 10 million Indians travelling to the region each year prior to the pandemic, according to Schengen Visa. Now, as the impacts of COVID-19 begin to subside, that number is expected to significantly increase.