The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is seeking approval from the Reserve Bank of India to introduce a fully digital know-your-customer process for foreign visitors using its UPI One World payment platform. The initiative aims to replace the current physical verification requirement with a simplified online onboarding mechanism, allowing international travelers to register and verify their identity by uploading scanned passport details.
A pilot version of the digital KYC process was tested at the India AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi from February 16 to 20. During the event, delegates from over 40 countries were able to make real-time UPI payments at the venue and the New Delhi International Airport without needing an Indian bank account or mobile number. According to a person familiar with the development, NPCI is awaiting the central bank’s approval before introducing the feature more broadly. NPCI did not provide an official comment.
UPI One World was originally launched during the G20 Summit in 2023, but adoption has been limited due to the mandatory physical KYC requirement. The rule forced participating fintech firms such as Pine Labs, Transcorp, Tri O Tech Solutions, Smart Payment Solutions, and Payworld to rely on in-person verification teams, increasing operational costs. The proposed digital process is expected to streamline onboarding and remove one of the main hurdles to scaling the service.
However, some restrictions on foreign users remain. Visitors can currently make only merchant payments and not person-to-person transfers, which reduces usability for small merchants relying on personal bank accounts to accept UPI payments.
