Indian tourists visiting Japan may soon be able to make payments using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), reported by ANI. The development follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) – the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India and NTT DATA Japan, a leading IT and business services company based in Tokyo. Announced on Tuesday, October 14, the MoU lays the foundation for UPI acceptance in Japan. The partnership seeks to simplify transactions for Indian visitors and promote seamless digital connectivity between the two countries.
Collaboration to strengthen Japan’s payment network
NTT DATA Japan operates CAFIS, the country’s largest card payment processing network, which connects acquirers, issuers, merchants and ATM operators nationwide. Under the collaboration, NIPL and NTT DATA will work together to integrate UPI within this network, allowing UPI payments at NTT DATA–acquired merchant locations across Japan.
The partnership aims to improve the payment experience for Indian tourists by enabling faster checkouts, enhancing customer satisfaction and driving business growth for local merchants. Once implemented, travellers will be able to make payments by simply scanning QR codes through their existing UPI apps.
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Growing Indian tourist traffic to Japan
The number of Indian visitors to Japan has risen sharply this year. Between January and August 2025, more than 2.08 lakh Indians travelled to Japan – a 36 per cent jump compared with 1.52 lakh during the same period in 2024. The increase reflects growing tourism links and highlights the need for smoother cross-border payment solutions.
Step towards making UPI global
Ritesh Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI International, said the partnership marks an important step in taking UPI to international markets. “This partnership is an important step toward improving the digital payment experience for Indian travellers and simplifying cross-border payments. It also reflects our ambition to take UPI to more international markets and establish it as one of the most trusted digital payment systems globally,” he said.
Masanori Kurihara, Head of Payments at NTT DATA Japan, said the collaboration will help Japanese businesses tap into new opportunities. “By initiating the partnership for UPI acceptance in Japan, we aim to make shopping and payments more convenient for Indian tourists, while helping Japanese merchants capture new opportunities,” he said.
Expanding UPI’s international reach
UPI’s potential in cross-border payments has already been demonstrated through partnerships in several countries, including Singapore, the UAE, Nepal, Sri Lanka and France. The latest initiative with Japan adds another major global economy to the growing list of markets adopting India’s homegrown digital payment system.