This partnership will enable Indian travellers to make QR code-based payments at establishments across tourist attractions, restaurants, retail outlets in Singapore.

Eventually, the UPI network will reach over 12,000 merchants across Singapore.

Notably, over 1.2 Mn Indian visitors travelled to Singapore in 2024.

Additionally, the collaboration will also enable businesses to offer both online and offline payment options via UPI.

On the development, NPCI International's CEO Ritesh Shukla, said, "Our partnership with HitPay expands UPI acceptance in Singapore, offering Indians a reliable, cost-effective payment option during their travel."

HitPay is a full-stack payments infrastructure platform designed for growing businesses across Asia Pacific (APAC). It offers a unified platform for e-commerce, point-of-sale (POS), and B2B payments.

This comes amid UPI transaction volume witnessing over 5% month-on-month (MoM) drop in February to 16.11 Bn from 16.99 Bn in the preceding month.

The decline was also seen in terms of value, with the total amount of the UPI transactions declining 6.47% in the month under consideration to INR 21.96 Lakh Cr from INR 23.48 Lakh Cr in January.

This isn't the first UPI partnership in Singapore. In 2023, UPI partnered with Singapore’s PayNow enabling cross-border transactions between the two countries.

This partnership is the latest addition to UPI's global expansion. Earlier this year, NIPL joined hands with Middle East-based payment solution provider Magnati to expand QR-based Unified Payments Interface (UPI) merchant payments in the UAE.

It is pertinent to note that countries such as Maldives, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bhutan, Nepal, the UAE, and Canada have also deployed UPI in their respective countries.

Last year, NPCI India was also said to be in talks with African and South American countries to help them build digital payment systems akin to its UPI.