NPCI arm partners with PayNet to enable UPI, DuitNow payments in India, Malaysia

MUMBAI

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has signed an agreement with Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) – Malaysia’s national payments network, to enable QR‑based merchant payments between India and Malaysia.

The rollout will happen in a phased manner. In the first phase, Indian travellers visiting Malaysia will be able to use their UPI apps to make seamless cross border merchant payments at DuitNow QR acceptance touchpoints. DuitNow QR is Malaysia’s national QR standard, operated by PayNet. 

In the subsequent phase, Malaysians visiting India will be able to scan UPI QR codes to make merchant payments using their DuitNow apps. With this integration, Indian tourists will gain access to millions of DuitNow QR merchant touchpoints in Malaysia, across restaurants, retail stores, tourist attractions, and other establishments, NIPL said.

Similarly, Malaysian visitors to India will benefit from acceptance at millions of UPI QR‑enabled merchant locations across the country, it said.

Ritesh Shukla, MD & CEO, NPCI International, said, “Under the guidance of Government of India and Reserve Bank of India, we aim to expand the global footprint of UPI building interoperable, real-time payment ecosystems with leading payment networks worldwide.”

“Our partnership with PayNet marks an important step in enabling seamless QR-based merchant payments between India and Malaysia, offering travellers a familiar, secure, and convenient payment experience. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to simplifying cross-border payments while strengthening digital and economic connectivity between the two countries,” he said.

Praveen Rajan, CEO of PayNet said, “This agreement reflects how the national payments infrastructure can support everyday cross-border payments at scale. Once enabled, the linkage between Malaysia’s DuitNow QR and India’s UPI will strengthen payment connectivity for travellers, merchants, banks and the wider financial services ecosystem.”

“In the context of Visit Malaysia 2026 and growing two-way travel, this collaboration contributes to broader trade and economic activity between Malaysia and India,” he added.