EbixCash Limited, a subsidiary of US-based Ebix Inc, has become the first company in India to launch and enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions for foreign nationals visiting India.
On February 8, the RBI proposed permitting inbound travellers access to UPI for merchant payments (P2M) while they are in the country. The facility will initially be extended to travellers from G-20 countries arriving at select international airports and later across all other entry points.
Facility for NRIs
The central bank had also recently allowed non-resident Indians, who have international mobile numbers linked to their NRE/NRO accounts, to use the UPI network when in India. “As a part of that initiative, EbixCash has become the first entity to enable UPI services for foreign delegates attending the G-20 summit. EbixCash will carry out a pilot launch shortly in Bangalore at the G-20 summit, involving dignitaries from across the world,” the company said in a release.
“We are excited to announce the launch of UPI for foreign nationals exchanging currencies across airports in India. This would enable passengers to visit our airport counters across India for converting their foreign currency into digital Indian currency, with a UPI interface to pay for goods and services across the country,” said T C Guruprasad, MD of Payment Solutions Division and EbixCash World Money.
EbixCash World Money is the foreign exchange division of EbixCash and has a network of over 81 retail branches, 250 franchisee partners and duty-free shops, 27 bank clients, 1,200 corporate clients and 5-star hotels. It is a leading player in India’s airport and seaport Money Exchange business with retail kiosks in 20 international airports, and 12 seaports. Ebix Inc is a leading international supplier of on-demand software and e-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries.