India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is venturing beyond borders, with Japan testing the system to cater to the increasing number of Indian tourists. NTT Data, a Japanese IT services company, is collaborating with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to conduct a trial in Japan during FY26. This trial will enable Indian tourists to make payments using UPI and have the funds debited from their Indian bank accounts.
The initiative aims to attract the growing influx of Indian tourists, with Japan welcoming approximately 3.15 lakh visitors from India in 2025, marking a 35% annual increase. Notably, McKinsey forecasts a surge in outbound trips from India, projecting an increase from 13 million in 2022 to 90 million in 2040. This rise is attributed to the rising incomes of the middle class, fostering a desire for international travel.
Launched in 2016 as a government-led project, UPI has seamlessly integrated into daily life, allowing a single QR code to be utilized across major payment applications. UPI transactions witnessed a 42% surge in fiscal 2024, reaching 185.8 billion transactions. In June 2025, an IMF report hailed UPI as the “world’s largest real-time payment system.”
