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NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of National Payment Corporation of India, has partnered with Liquid Group Pte. Ltd. (Liquid Group), a leading cross-border digital payments provider, to enable UPI QR-based payments acceptance in 10 markets across North Asia and Southeast Asia.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment (RTP) system, allowing users to transfer money on a real-time basis across multiple bank accounts without revealing details of one’s bank account to the other party. UPI is amongst the most successful RTP systems globally, providing  simplicity, safety and security in person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. In 2020, UPI enabled commerce worth $457 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 15% of India’s GDP.

Liquid Group, headquartered in Singapore, operates a QR payment acceptance network that enables the cross-border acceptance of payment schemes and digital payment apps. It integrates an extensive network of merchant acquiring partners in the 10 markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.  By collectively providing harmonised operating rules, streamlined user experience as well as common compliance standards, Liquid Group and its network of merchant acquiring partners are well placed to support the internationalisation of UPI Payments.

The collaboration between NIPL and Liquid Group will enable BHIM App users to make UPI QR-based payments at over 2 million merchants progressively across North Asia and Southeast Asia from early 2022.

“We are excited by this partnership with NIPL. In anticipation of the resumption of cross-border travel soon, we have been working with our merchant acquiring partners to prepare for the acceptance of contactless QR payments from overseas”, said Jeremy Tan, founder of and CEO at Liquid Group.  “UPI has made exponential growth in India and we look forward to supporting its rapid expansion across the region”.

Mr. Ritesh Shukla, CEO at NIPL added: “This strategic partnership with Liquid Group is a formidable step towards achieving our vision of taking our robust and popular payments solutions to global markets. We are confident that our proven product capabilities, combined with the vast merchant network of Liquid Group, will enable UPI QR-based payment acceptance and scale-up in Asian markets”.

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