NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced its commercial agreement with Uzbekistan’s national payment system HUMO on Monday.
The pact would enable Indian travellers to scan Uzbekistan’s national interoperable QR code UZQR using their familiar (Unified Payments Interface) UPI-enabled applications to make instant merchant payments across the country.
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The move comes amidst Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the partner country.
According to a statement released by the Finance Ministry, the agreement was signed after approvals from financial regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU), which designated HUMO as NIPL’s authorised partner for cross-border merchant acceptance.
The integration with CBU’s mandated Unified National QR infrastructure (UZQR) allows UPI users to have universal access to Uzbekistan’s goods and services.
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The pact allows direct person-to-merchant (P2M) payments from Indian bank accounts, thus removing hindrances which arise from foreign exchange mark-up, the need to carry international cards or cash for Indian tourists, business travellers, and students.
UPI is now operational in ten countries — Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Greece. The access allows Indian travellers to utilise the online payment interface for digital payments.
