A service that will allow the fintech firm s Indian users traveling abroad to pay foreign merchants using the Unified Payments Interface UPI international's supports merchant outlets in UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan that have a local QR quick response code. Users will be able to make direct payments in a foreign currency from their Indian bank, like they do with international debit cards. Walmart-backed said it was the first Indian fintech app to launch the service.
Rahul Chari, chief technology officer and co-founder of I am sure this launch will be a game-changer for Indians travelling overseas and will change the way in which they pay at merchant outlets abroad, as well as the way in which this launch will be used, said that international is the first major step in letting the rest of the world experience. The entire world needs to experience UPI. PhonePe has raised $350 million in funding from General Atlantic at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion, making it the most-valued fintech firm in India.
According to a report by Bain and Company, PhonePe will be able to scale up operations and compete with Google Pay, Paytm, and Amazon Pay in Indian fintech, which is expected to be worth $350 billion in enterprise value by the year 2026.
PhonePe users can activate their UPI-linked bank account at the merchant location, or prior to their international trip, via the PhonePe AppPhonePe App. It would require the customer to enter their UPI pin in order to activate the service.
Indian customers need to use a foreign currency, or their credit or forex card to pay at international merchant outlets. They can now use their Indian bank account to pay using the UPI feature, thanks to PhonePe's feature.
The National Payments Corporation of India NPCI in collaboration with NPCI International Payments Limited plans to roll out UPI International to more countries this year. NPCI developed the UPI.
PhonePe was founded in December 2015 and has emerged as India's largest payments app. One in four Indians are now on PhonePe, with 435 million registered users.