This article brings together what Diplo's country guides record about India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the RuPay card network outside India: where they have been launched, where agreements have been signed, and where the briefs record only discussions or interest. It is compiled from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral briefs summarised in Diplo's country guides, and each statement carries the date of the brief it comes from. The briefs use different wording for different stages, so this article keeps launches, signed agreements and discussions apart and does not treat an agreement as a working service unless the brief says so.

Where UPI or RuPay is recorded as launched

Bhutan. According to the MEA brief of June 2026, RuPay Phase I, launched in 2019, enables payments in Bhutan using RuPay cards issued by Indian banks. RuPay Phase II, launched in 2020, enables payments in India using RuPay cards issued by Bhutanese banks, giving full inter-operability. The brief also records that payments from Indian visitors through major UPI apps, namely BHIM, PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay, are accepted in Bhutan using the existing National QR system.

Singapore. The MEA brief of July 2026 states that the link between India's UPI and Singapore's PayNow was officially launched on 21 February 2023, in the online presence of Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Lee. Singapore is the first country with which India has begun this cross-border Person-to-Person (P2P) payment facility. The same brief records that commercial and technical arrangements have been worked out for the acceptance of the RuPay card in Singapore.

France. According to the MEA brief of July 2026, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and France's Lyra Collect executed an agreement during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Paris in July 2023 to implement UPI in France and Europe. The payment mechanism went live at the Eiffel Tower, the first merchant in France to accept UPI, on 26 January 2024. UPI payments were then launched at Galeries Lafayette on 3 July 2024, at the La Vallée Village Concierge in 2025, and in June 2026 at Galeries Lafayette Nice Massena. As of June 2026, approximately 9,000 successful transactions, amounting to nearly €930,000, had been recorded since UPI's launch in France.

Sri Lanka. The MEA brief of June 2026 records that UPI QR based payments were launched in Sri Lanka in February 2024, virtually, by Prime Minister Modi and then President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Qatar. According to the MEA brief of July 2026, QNB and NIPL announced acceptance of UPI payments at QNB POSs in Qatar on 15 September 2025, and NIPL signed a similar agreement with Commercial Bank of Qatar. UPI was formally launched in Qatar on 7 October 2025, during the Commerce and Industry Minister's visit, at a Lulu supermarket.

Nepal. The MEA brief of July 2026 records that in June 2026 a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) linkage between UPI and Nepal's National Payments Interface (NPI) was launched to facilitate cross-border personal remittances.

Where agreements are recorded, without a launch date

Maldives. According to the MEA brief of June 2026, NIPL and the Maldivian Ministry of Economic Development & Trade signed an agreement in August 2024, during the External Affairs Minister's visit, to adopt UPI in the Maldives. In 2025, during Prime Minister Modi's visit, an agreement on UPI in Maldives was signed between NIPL and the Maldives Monetary Authority. The relations article of the Maldives guide also lists a Network to Network Agreement on UPI roll out in the Maldives.

Bahrain. The MEA brief of June 2026 records that in November 2025 NIPL and BENEFIT signed an agreement on real-time cross-border remittances between India and Bahrain, connecting UPI with Bahrain's Electronic Fund Transfer System (EFTS). An earlier MoU between BENEFIT and NPCI for the launch of the RuPay Card in Bahrain was signed in August 2019.

Cyprus. According to the MEA brief of May 2026, an MoU to enable cross-border payments through UPI was signed between NIPL and Eurobank Cyprus on the sidelines of the Prime Minister's visit to Cyprus in June 2025. The brief records the signing but not whether the service is in operation.

Namibia. The MEA brief of March 2026 states that NIPL and the Bank of Namibia have signed a UPI technology Licensing Agreement, enabling collaboration between the two sides in digital payments.

Peru. Among recent agreements, the MEA brief of June 2026 lists one to create a UPI-like platform for digital payments all over Peru by NIPL.

Seychelles. According to the MEA brief of June 2026, MoUs and agreements including on UPI were exchanged during Prime Minister Modi's State Visit to Seychelles from 27 to 29 June 2026.

Armenia. The MEA brief of June 2026 records that in October 2025 NPCI signed an agreement with Armenian Card CJSC (ArCa) for enabling cross-border remittance from Armenia to India, and that an NPCI delegation visited Yerevan on 10 and 11 November 2025.

Jamaica. According to the MEA brief of June 2026, one of the four MoUs signed during Prime Minister Andrew Holness's visit to India in October 2024 concerned Digital Payment Systems, and an NPCI delegation visited in January 2025 to discuss its implementation. The brief does not name UPI in this context.

Where the briefs record discussions or interest

Several briefs record talks, visits or expressions of interest rather than agreements:

  • Burundi: according to the MEA brief of April 2026, the High Commissioner met Burundi's ICT Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Burundi on 9 August 2024 to discuss implementation of MOSIP and UPI in Burundi.
  • Cuba: the MEA brief of July 2026 states that Cuba has expressed interest in India's Digital ID (Aadhaar), UPI and the Sachet disaster warning system.
  • Papua New Guinea: according to the MEA brief of July 2026, discussions during a PNG ministerial visit to Delhi from 24 to 29 July 2023 covered IT, biometric-ID, UPI, digital transformation and e-governance.
  • The Bahamas: the MEA brief of June 2026 lists a UPI Digital Payment system among proposals India has made to CARICOM countries, from which The Bahamas benefits as a CARICOM member.
  • Tunisia: the MEA brief of April 2026 sees potential for cooperation in digital public infrastructure such as Aadhaar and Unified Payments Interface under the 3T initiative.
  • DR Congo: according to the MEA brief of April 2026, a DRC delegation held meetings with NPCI in March 2022, and an NPCI team visited Kinshasa in July 2022 for discussions with the Congo Central Bank.

Reading these entries

The entries above reflect different stages, and they are dated to different briefs, from March 2026 to July 2026. A signed MoU or licensing agreement is not the same as a payment service that travellers can use, and only some briefs say that a service is live. Where a brief gives transaction figures, as the France brief does, they are quoted exactly. Readers planning to pay by UPI or RuPay abroad should confirm current acceptance with their bank or payment app before travel, since the briefs describe the position on their own dates.

Countries not listed here may still have arrangements that their briefs do not mention. This article covers only what the briefs, as summarised in Diplo's guides, say.