UAE Implements India’s UPI for Cross-Border Payments

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has implemented support for India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system, marking a significant milestone in cross-border digital payments and strengthening financial ties between the two countries. Facilitated through a partnership between India’s NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and UAE’s Network International, the new system allows seamless, real-time transactions between Indian nationals and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the UAE and their home country.

The rollout leverages advanced security features, including biometric authentication and digital identity verification, integrating smoothly with the UAE’s robust digital identity infrastructure.

The implementation of UPI in the UAE enables users to initiate direct payments through UPI-enabled applications such as Federal Bank’s FedMobile, ICICI Bank’s iMobile, IndusInd Bank’s BHIM Indus Pay, South Indian Bank’s SIB Mirror+, and AU Small Finance Bank’s BHIM AU. This facilitates a more efficient remittance process for Indian citizens in the UAE, an important development given India’s status as the world’s top remittance recipient. According to the World Bank, India received over $100 billion in remittances in 2022, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) anticipates this figure could reach $160 billion by 2029, driven by the large Indian diaspora and rising emigration rates.

To ensure transaction security and compliance, the UPI system requires biometric verification for user authentication, a feature that aligns with the UAE’s existing digital ID and biometric payment systems. This step not only bolsters security but also ensures compliance with stringent regulatory frameworks set by the RBI and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines. Moreover, all participating banks are mandated to implement Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) protocols, creating a comprehensive framework for safe, cross-border transactions.

The UPI adoption is part of the UAE’s broader digital transformation agenda, reflecting its focus on building a resilient and secure financial technology ecosystem. This partnership with India, a country known for its digital identity innovations, underscores the UAE’s ambition to become a global fintech leader. India’s UPI system, itself rooted in the success of Aadhaar — the world’s largest biometric digital ID system with over 1.3 billion registered users — has been pivotal in India’s financial inclusion strategy, enabling millions to access digital financial services. By adopting UPI, the UAE not only extends this model but also illustrates the growing global influence of India’s fintech infrastructure.