India's Unified Payments Interface is set to enter the Japanese market in what would be its first foray into East Asia, following a memorandum of understanding signed between NTT Data and NPCI International Payments Limited on October 7, 2025. The partnership will enable UPI-based QR code payments for Indian tourists visiting Japan, with a trial implementation anticipated to begin in April 2026.
Under the agreement, NTT Data and NIPL will jointly examine opportunities for UPI enablement across Japanese merchants. The initiative supports Japan's broader push toward cashless payments while addressing the growing number of Indian visitors to the country. NTT Data, one of Japan's largest IT services companies, brings extensive merchant network relationships that could accelerate UPI adoption across retail locations frequented by Indian tourists.
The Japan expansion represents a significant geographic milestone for UPI, which has until now concentrated its international footprint on South Asia, the Middle East, and select European markets. UPI currently enables merchant payments in Singapore, the UAE, France, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, and Qatar. The system also supports bilateral person-to-person transfers between India and Singapore through the UPI-PayNow linkage launched in February 2023.
The move comes as UPI continues to break transaction records domestically. NPCI data for September 2025 showed the platform processing nearly 20 billion transactions with approximately $280 billion in total transaction value. By February 2026, UPI was averaging 728 million transactions per day.
Separately, India and Israel agreed in February 2026 to enable UPI payments in Israel through cooperation between NPCI International and MASAV, Israel's interbank payments operator. The arrangement was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's State visit to Israel. NPCI International has stated its goal of expanding UPI acceptance to more than 20 countries by financial year 2028-29.