PhonePe, which has the largest market share by UPI transactions, now supports international payments, and Indians travelling abroad can pay foreign merchants through UPI. It has become the first fintech platform in the country to offer such a facility.

Transactions are done the same way as international debit cards, and the foreign currency will be debited from the user’s bank account.

According to the company, all international merchant outlets with local QR codes in UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan are supported.

PhonePe users can activate UPI-linked bank accounts for UPI International on the app. The company says this can be done when they wish to pay or before travel and requires users to enter their UPI code to activate the service. With this facility, customers do not need a credit card or foreign exchange card when making payments outside India.

UPI International is expected to roll out to more countries. Last month, the National Payments Corporation of India said that NRIs from 10 countries (Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, US, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the UK) would soon be allowed to pay without an Indian phone number.