New Delhi: In a major step towards financial inclusion for the Indian diaspora, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can now use their international mobile numbers to access Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services in India—even without an Indian SIM card.
The move is seen as a significant upgrade to India’s digital payment ecosystem, enabling millions of NRIs to seamlessly transact with businesses, family, and service providers in India through UPI platforms like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and BHIM.
Previously, using UPI required an Indian mobile number linked to an Indian bank account, which posed a major hurdle for NRIs who retained their local bank accounts but no longer used Indian SIM cards. The new directive lifts that restriction for account holders of select Indian banks, provided the international mobile number is linked to their NRE/NRO bank accounts.
The feature will initially support mobile numbers from countries such as USA, UK, UAE, Singapore, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Oman, and Qatar, with further expansion expected in phases.
Industry experts see this as a game-changer for cross-border digital convenience. NRIs can now send money to family, pay utility bills, shop online, or even donate to Indian causes directly from abroad—without incurring international transfer fees or delays.
Banks and UPI apps will need to update their onboarding processes to enable verification and linking of international numbers. Most platforms are expected to roll out the update in the coming weeks.
This development not only simplifies banking for the Indian diaspora but also reinforces India’s position as a global leader in real-time digital payments.
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