BRUSSELS : Pay via UPI, RuPay in Europe soon

BRUSSELS : Indian tourists in Europe will now be able to make payments using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay. The reason: Global payments firm Worldline has partnered with an arm of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for payment acceptance from the Indian network.

Worldline, which is also present in India, has entered into an agreement with NPCI International Payments, or NIPL, which is the global arm of NPCI. Currently, customers from India pay through international card networks. UPI’s advantage over cards is that it allows multiple bank accounts to be accessed through one mobile application.

Facilitated via Worldline QR, the universal product for accepting all QR payments, the first target markets for NIPL are set to be Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. There are further plans for expansion as Worldline QR is rolled out in Europe.

India is a key tourist market for Europe, with an estimated 10 million travelling to the region each year prior to Covid.