Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Sending money back home or making merchant payments will be hassle-free, as the ‘Made in India’ real-time payments solution the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will now be available to Indians living abroad.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, announced that it instructed members of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem to allow non-resident account types such as non-resident external (NRE)/ non-resident ordinary (NRO) accounts having international mobile numbers to get onboarded and transact through UPI.
NRIs who wish to avail of this facility need to have a NRE or NRO account. For the unversed, an NRE account isa bank account opened in India in the name of an NRI, topark his foreign earnings whereas, an NRO account is a bank account opened in India in the name of an NRI to manage the income earned by him/her in India.
UPI account is only allowed as “per the extant Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) Regulations and adherence to the RBI guidelines.
UPI Modalities
For a person to have a UPI ID, he/she needed an Indian mobile number. When a user activates UPI from an app, for instance, Paytm, the app sends an SMS confirming that the mobile number is linked to the bank. This meant that those abroad had to keep their India numbers, which is exorbitant owing to international roaming prices.
NPCI said that now users will be able to access UPI without relying on their India mobile phone number
NRIs in 10 countries will be able to use UPI for payments including Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, USA, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
When will the facility begin?
UPIs for NRIs will commence shortly. All 382 member banks of NPCI have been asked to ensure that all non-resident account types are onboarded by 30 April.
UPI’s success story
Since its launch in 2016, the UPI system has gained massive popularity.
UPI recorded over 7.82 billion transactions worth Rs 12.82 trillion in December 2022.
The system began with 21 banks in 2016 and today has expanded to 381 banks, enabling billions of digital transactions each month.