India’s NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) announced a partnership with Network International, a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA), to enable the acceptance of QR code-based Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments.
The new payment facility, allowed through Network International’s point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the UAE, will offer seamless and secure transactions for Indian tourists and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) across Network International’s vast merchant network in the UAE, NIPL said.
Network International has over 200,000 POS terminals across 60,000 merchants in sectors including retail, hospitality, transport, and supermarkets among others.
NIPL said the UPI acceptance will be rolled out progressively, covering a wide range of establishments from retail stores and dining outlets, as well as tourist and leisure attractions including Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates.
The launch of UPI payment system in the UAE comes amidst projections of the number of Indian tourists travelling to GCC countries to increase to 9.8 million in 2024, with the UAE alone anticipating 5.29 million arrivals from India this year.
By enabling UPI acceptance through its POS terminals, Network International will provide a QR-based safe and secure method for facilitating cross-border payments.
This will allow Indian tourists and NRIs with Indian bank accounts to use UPI for payments across Network International’s POS terminals in the UAE.
Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International, said by growing UPI payment acceptance across merchants in the UAE, the company is not only providing Indian travellers with a seamless and familiar payment experience, but also promoting the use of innovative digital payment solutions internationally.
“This collaboration exemplifies our commitment to driving technological advancement and creating a more connected global payment ecosystem,” he said.
Nandan Mer, Group CEO of Network International, said by enabling customers to pay in their preferred method, Network is one step closer to realising its vision to empower businesses and merchants with the latest payment technologies and strengthening the vision of a digital UAE.
“We are confident that this partnership will drive a robust digital payments ecosystem in the country that will increase cashless transactions,” Mer said.
Jamal Al Nassai, Group Managing Director for Merchant Services – Middle East and North Africa at Network International, said Network will leverage its 30-years legacy of technological innovation to enable acceptance of UPI-based payment apps to its merchants to drive global interoperability.
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