Indian govt, RBI in talks to link UPI with Alipay+ for cross-border payments
03 Feb 2026, 12:26 PMAlipay+ has close to 1.8 billion user accounts and are used by over 150 million merchants.
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The Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are holding talks with Ant International to link India's United Payments Interface (UPI) with the China-related company's digital payments platform Alipay+, the Reuters reported citing unidentified people.
The integration will allow Indian tourists and foreign diaspora to make payments using UPI in countries that accept payments through Alipay+.
Alipay+ has close to 1.8 billion user accounts and are used by over 150 million merchants. It is used in more than 100 countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Meanwhile, UPI has become synonymous with digital payments in India with close to 18 billion transactions taking place on it every month. It set a new record in January 2026 for the number of transactions per month at 21.7 billion.
Notably, the talks with the China related company indicate thawing of ties between India and China. The relation between the two countries had become strained following the 2020 border clash that halted major business deals and led to intense scrutiny of Chinese investments. The thaw also comes in the wake of Trump's tariffs.
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