NPCI International Payments Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Korea's Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute on April 20, during South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's State Visit to India. The agreement establishes a framework for phased integration of digital payment systems between India's Unified Payments Interface and Korean payment infrastructure.
South Korea becomes the second East Asian market to sign a UPI expansion agreement, following Japan's launch of UPI merchant acceptance on April 1. KFTC operates Korea's interbank clearing infrastructure including the national Giro system and electronic banking network, serving as the central switch for retail payment transactions across Korean financial institutions.
The MoU was one of four agreements signed during the summit, which set a bilateral trade target of $50 billion by 2030 and launched an India-Korea Digital Bridge for cooperation across semiconductors, AI, and financial services.