PhonePe and Mashreq Partner to Enable UPI Payments in UAE

Indian citizens visiting or working in the United Arab Emirates can now use the PhonePe app to make payments using the United Payments Interface (UPI) at Mashreq’s Neopay terminals.

These transactions are facilitated by UPI, and the account debit will occur in Indian rupees, with the terminals showing the currency exchange rate, PhonePe said in a Thursday (March 28) press release.

Non-resident Indians with UAE mobile numbers can download the PhonePe app, link their non-resident external and non-resident ordinary accounts, and facilitate payments in the UAE, according to the release.

These capabilities are enabled by partnerships of Mashreq and NPCI International Payments Limited, which allows Neopay terminals to accept UPI apps as a payment instrument, and of Mashreq and PhonePe, the release said.

“UAE is a very popular destination, with millions of Indian visitors every year,” Ritesh Pai, CEO of international payments at PhonePe, said in the release. “With this partnership, customers can now conveniently transact through UPI, a payment method they are familiar with.”

Neopay terminals are available in retail stores, restaurants, and tourist and leisure attractions in the UAE, according to the release. PhonePe app users can use them to make payments by scanning a QR code, the release said.

In addition to facilitating travel and local transactions, PhonePe also plans to introduce inward remittance services using the UPI infrastructure to simplify the process of transferring money, per the release.

Pai joined PhonePe in January to lead PhonePe’s global expansion plans. Previously, Pai worked at TerraPay where he was responsible for launching and implementing payment products and solutions globally.

“PhonePe has achieved market leadership in India with its unwavering commitment to product innovation and building customer-centric solutions,” Pai said at the time. “I am confident that this same focus will help us expand our footprint beyond national borders, taking our payment technology to an international audience.”

The PhonePe digital payments app has more than 520 million registered users and a digital payments acceptance network of 38 million merchants, according to the company’s press release.