A statement from PhonePe said that they are the first fintech app in India to offer this facility. It also said “The current launch will enable all international merchant outlets in UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan. QR codes will also be available in these countries. Speaking on the occasion, PhonePe CEO and Co-Founder Rahul Chari said UPI International is UPI to the rest of the world. The first major step to experience . He is confident that this launch will prove to be a game-changer and will especially help Indians traveling abroad to transact money abroad.
How to use PhonePe for international payments:
PhonePe user needs to activate bank account for UPI International in the app. Users can initiate this facility before their journey or upon arrival. It will help users to transact money in five selected countries. This will greatly reduce the need for travelers to have forex cards or international credit cards. PhonePe was developed in 2015 as a payment app. A year later, online shopping site Flipkart acquired PhonePe. It was originally acquired as part of Flipkart’s finances. After this acquisition, PhonePe became the largest payment app in India.
Some information about Unified Payment Interface (UPI):
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that connects multiple bank accounts through a single mobile application. NPCI launched a pilot with 21 member banks. The pilot was launched in Mumbai on 11 April 2016 by the then Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Dr Raghuram G Rajan. Banks will start uploading their UPI enabled apps on Google Play Store from August 25, 2016 if this pilot is successful. As of September 2022, there are 358 banks on this platform.