New Delhi, November 22, 2025 — India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is set for a major international expansion as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has confirmed its upcoming integration with the European Central Bank’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement System (TIPS). The move marks a significant milestone in India’s digital payments journey and positions UPI among the world’s leading real-time payment systems.
According to the RBI, once the interoperability framework is operational, individuals and businesses in India and Eurozone member nations will be able to send and receive payments within seconds. The mechanism is expected to substantially reduce processing delays and high charges associated with traditional cross-border remittances routed through banking and SWIFT channels.
Until now, UPI has been largely utilised for domestic payments and limited international merchant transactions. The proposed linkage with TIPS will expand its scope to global remittances, enabling Indian expatriates, students, travellers, and enterprises to use UPI abroad with real-time financial settlement.
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Implementation and Global Expansion Efforts
The integration will be executed by NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL), the global arm of the National Payments Corporation of India. NIPL and the European Central Bank have finalised the preliminary framework covering settlement workflows, risk protocols, interoperability parameters, and data governance standards.
UPI payments are already accepted for merchant transactions in France, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the UAE, and Qatar. At present, more than 2 million international merchants support UPI.
Alongside the acceptance rollout, countries including Namibia, Peru, and Trinidad & Tobago are collaborating with NIPL to adopt UPI-based national digital payment frameworks. Government officials have indicated that discussions are in progress with seven to eight additional countries for onboarding UPI to their digital retail ecosystems.
Domestic Adoption and Market Performance
UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape. In October, the platform registered 20.7 billion transactions amounting to ₹27.28 lakh crore, supported by festive season demand and increased adoption under GST incentive schemes.
India currently has more than 509 million registered UPI users, and this number is projected to grow further following expansion into Europe. Industry experts view the UPI–TIPS linkage as a strategic step toward building a global interoperable payments network and strengthening India’s presence in global fintech innovation.
