Japanese IT services company NTT Data is collaborating with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to facilitate UPI payments in Japan. The partnership is investigating ways to connect Indian and Japanese payment frameworks as part of the proposed pilot.
Introduced in 2016 as a government-supported initiative, UPI enables users with Indian bank accounts to instantly transfer money via mobile applications, usually at no charge.
A key characteristic of the system is its interoperability, permitting any UPI-enabled application to scan a single QR code to process payments. UPI has already attained traction in several international markets, mainly to assist cross-border retail transactions for Indian travelers.
The planned rollout in Japan comes at a time of significant growth in Indian tourist arrivals. In 2025, Indian visits to Japan surpassed 315,000, positioning Indians as one of the fastest-growing outbound travel demographics to the country.
Rohit Mahajan, Founder and Managing Partner at plutos ONE, noted that implementing UPI in Japan aligns merchant ecosystems with evolving consumer behavior. He emphasized that the system’s expansion across various nations demonstrates India’s payment infrastructure is both scalable and competitive on a global scale.
Ravi Gosain, President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), remarked that the trial signifies the expanding economic and cultural influence of India worldwide. He highlighted that the increasing number of Indian tourists has heightened the demand for effective and affordable digital payment solutions, and that enabling UPI usage abroad could foster cashless travel while reinforcing India-Japan relations in tourism and the digital economy.
UPI currently ranks among the world’s largest real-time payment systems by transaction volume and continues to be pivotal in India’s digital payment landscape. The pilot in Japan is anticipated to assess its viability in a significant international market.
First Published: Jan 28, 2026 1:49 PM IST
