Payments body NPCI’s global arm NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) has signed an agreement with Malaysian state-backed Payments Network (PayNet) to enable cross-border QR payments between the two nations.
The initiative will be rolled out in two phases. Under the first phase, Indian tourists in Malaysia will be able to make UPI payments at more than 29 Lakh DuitNow QR touchpoints. DuitNow is Malaysia’s national QR standard, which is operated by PayNet.
In the second phase of the project, Malaysians visiting India will be able to make payments at UPI merchants using their banking app or e-wallets.
“… Our partnership with PayNet marks an important step in enabling seamless QR-based merchant payments between India and Malaysia… This collaboration reinforces our commitment to simplifying cross-border payments while strengthening digital and economic connectivity between the two countries,” said NPIL MD and chief executive Ritesh Shukla.
PayNet CEO Praveen Rajan added that linking the payment systems of the two countries will strengthen connectivity for travellers, merchants, banks and the wider financial services ecosystem.
This comes as Malaysia continues to remain one of the key travel destinations for Indians. In 2025, domestic tourist inflows into the Southeast Asian nation stood at 15.6 Lakh, up from 13.6 Lakh in 2024. The country also welcomed 3 Lakh Malaysian tourists last year.
This represents a big market for channelling spending to local merchants and making payments convenient.
The latest pact adds on to NIPL’s aggressive expansion of UPI’s global footprint by inking cross-border partnerships with central banks, payment processors and fintech operators worldwide. Currently, UPI is live in multiple countries outside India, including the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore, Mauritius, France and Sri Lanka.
In December 2025, NIPL partnered with ACLEDA Bank Plc to introduce UPI in Cambodia. Prior to this, RBI and NIPL entered the “realisation phase” of linking UPI with European Central Bank’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) system.
Besides, NPCI is also targeting a full fledged UPI launch in countries like Japan and Qatar soon.
On the domestic front, UPI clocked a record 2,170 Cr transactions worth INR 28.33 Lakh Cr in January, marginally up from 2,160 Cr transactions worth INR INR 27.97 Lakh Cr in December 2025.
The post Now, NIPL Expands UPI to Malaysia Via Partnership With PayNet appeared first on Inc42 Media.
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