NIPL Partners With Liquid Group To Allow UPI QR Acceptance In 10 Asian Markets

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), has collaborated with Liquid Group Pte. Ltd. (Liquid Group), a domestic and cross-border corporate payment solution for B2B and B2C segments and a Non-Bank Financial Institution for facilitating digital payments, to allow UPI QR-based payments acceptance in ten Asian markets throughout North Asia and Southeast Asia.

NIPL has declared in the announcement that "Liquid Group, headquartered in Singapore, operates a QR payment acceptance network that enables the cross-border acceptance of payment schemes and digital payment apps. Liquid Group 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."

From early 2022, BHIM App users will be able to make UPI QR-based payments at over 2 million merchants across North Asia and Southeast Asia thanks to the partnership between NIPL and Liquid Group.

"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. UPI has made exponential growth in India and we look forward to supporting its rapid expansion across the region," said Jeremy Tan, Founder and CEO of Liquid Group.

"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." acknowledged Mr. Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL.

According to the statement of NIPL "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 USD 457 Billion, which is equivalent to approximately 15% of India's GDP."

On April 3, 2020, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). As NPCI's international subsidiary, NIPL is dedicated to deploying Real-Time Payment System - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Card Scheme - RuPay initiatives of NPCI across overseas.