 "Representative Photo")
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is set to debut in Japan, marking another milestone in the global expansion of the country’s flagship digital payments system.
Japanese IT services firm NTT Data is partnering with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable UPI acceptance in Japan on a trial basis in fiscal 2026. In the initial phase, the service will be available to Indian tourists visiting the country.
Cross-border payment integration
NTT Data and NPCI are also exploring ways to connect Japanese and Indian payment networks, a move that could deepen cross-border digital payment integration.
Under the proposed arrangement, payments made by Indian users in Japan through UPI will be debited directly from their bank accounts in India, allowing travellers to use the familiar system overseas without the need for separate wallets or cards.
Growing international footprint
With the planned rollout in Japan, UPI’s international presence continues to expand. The platform is currently available in eight countries — Bhutan, which was the first to adopt it, followed by Singapore, Nepal, the UAE, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Mauritius and France.
The push abroad is aimed at serving the growing number of Indian travellers and strengthening UPI’s position as a global digital payments solution.
UPI’s rise at home
Launched in 2016 as a government-led initiative, UPI has become an integral part of daily life in India. The service is generally free to use for anyone with an Indian bank account and allows a single QR code to be accepted across multiple payment apps.
According to NPCI, UPI transactions rose by 42 percent in fiscal 2024 to 185.8 billion. A US-based payment app company reported that 49 percent of all instant-payment transactions worldwide in 2023 were processed through UPI. In a June 2025 report, the International Monetary Fund described UPI as the “world’s largest real-time payment system”.
NTT Data’s role
NTT Data provides payment terminals and processing services to businesses in India and Southeast Asia, with around six million stores in India — including e-commerce firms — using its systems. In Japan, the company plans to promote UPI adoption among merchants.
Speaking at an event in November, Takeo Ueno, CEO of NTT Data Payment Services India, described UPI as “innovative” and “state of the art”.