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Indian tourists visiting Japan will soon be able to make digital payments using the UPI app on their mobile phones. NIPL, the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NTT DATA Japan. This agreement demonstrates that India's UPI technology is gaining a strong presence globally, making international transactions easy and convenient for everyone.

Under this agreement, NTT DATA-affiliated retailers will now accept UPI payments from Indian tourists. This means that Indian tourists will be able to pay directly from their mobile phones by scanning a QR code. The aim is to ease their shopping without relying on cash or forex cards.

Millions of tourists visit Japan every year.
Masanori Kurihara, Head of Payments at NTT DATA Japan, said that the introduction of UPI payments in Japan will enable Indian tourists to shop easily and generate new business for Japanese retailers. This initiative comes at a time when the number of tourists from India to Japan is steadily increasing. Between January and August 2025, more than 280,000 Indian tourists visited Japan. This partnership will further strengthen Japan's tourism sector and provide Indian travelers with a secure and familiar digital payment method.

UPI is used in these countries
This will be the first time UPI services will be launched in East Asia. Currently, Indian travelers can make UPI payments in countries like France, the UAE, Nepal, Mauritius, Peru, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, and Bhutan. NTT DATA Japan operates CAFIS, Japan's largest card payment network, which connects banks, shops, and ATMs across the country. Now, UPI transactions will be integrated into this network to make the payment process easier for Indians.

491 million people in India use UPI
As of July 2025, approximately 491 million people in India are using UPI, and 6.5 million merchants are connected to it. This makes India a leader in the global digital payments sector. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) accounts for approximately 85% of all digital transactions in India and nearly half of the world's total real-time digital payments. UPI's popularity is primarily driven by its ease, accessibility, and security. The system allows people to send money to each other or make payments to merchants, whether for shopping, bill payments, or online services.

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