There are about 49.1 crore UPI users in India.
Now Indian tourists visiting Japan will soon be able to make digital payments there through UPI app from their mobile. For this, NIPL, the international branch of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has entered into an agreement (MoU) with NTT DATA Japan. This agreement shows that India’s UPI technology is now making its strong mark globally and is making international transactions easy and seamless for everyone.
Under this agreement, merchants associated with NTT DATA will now accept UPI payments from Indian tourists. That means Indian tourists will be able to pay directly from their mobile by scanning the QR code. Its purpose is that people do not have to depend on cash or forex cards and their purchases become easier.
Millions of tourists go to Japan every year
Masanori Kurihara, head of payment at NTT DATA Japan, said that with the introduction of UPI payment facility in Japan, Indian tourists will be able to shop easily and Japanese shopkeepers will get new business. This step has come at a time when the number of tourists visiting Japan from India is continuously increasing. Between January and August 2025, more than 2 lakh 8 thousand Indian tourists visited Japan. This partnership will further strengthen Japan’s tourism sector and provide Indian travelers with a secure and familiar digital payment method.
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UPI works in these countries
This will be the first time that UPI service will be launched in East Asia. Currently, Indian travelers can make payments through UPI in countries like France, UAE, Nepal, Mauritius, Peru, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Bhutan. NTT DATA Japan runs CAFIS, Japan’s largest card payment network, which connects banks, shops and ATMs across the country. Now UPI transactions will also be added to this network, so that the payment process can become easier for Indians.
49.1 crore people use UPI in India
By July 2025, about 491 crore people in India are using UPI and 65 lakh merchants are associated with it. With this, India is at the forefront in the digital payment sector of the world. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) accounts for about 85% of all digital transactions in India and about half of the world’s total real-time digital payments come from India alone. The main reason for the popularity of UPI is its ease, accessibility and security. This system allows people to send money between each other or make payments to shopkeepers. Be it shopping, bill payment or any online service.