Japan to trial UPI payments to ease transactions for Indian tourists

India’s homegrown digital payments system, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), will soon be introduced in Japan on a trial basis. The move aims to make retail payments easier for the growing number of Indian tourists by allowing them to pay through familiar QR-based systems linked to their Indian bank accounts.

Japanese IT services firm NTT Data is working with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable UPI payments in Japan.

The partnership is exploring ways to link Indian and Japanese payment systems as part of the proposed pilot.

Launched in 2016 as a government-backed initiative, UPI allows users with Indian bank accounts to transfer money instantly through mobile applications, typically at no cost.

A key feature of the system is interoperability, which enables any UPI-enabled app to scan a single QR code to make payments. UPI has already expanded to several overseas markets, primarily to facilitate cross-border retail payments for Indian travellers.

The proposed Japan rollout comes amid a sharp rise in Indian tourist arrivals. Indian visits to Japan crossed 315,000 in 2025, making Indians one of the fastest-growing outbound travel segments to the country.

Rohit Mahajan, Founder and Managing Partner at plutos ONE, said enabling UPI in Japan aligns merchant ecosystems with changing consumer behaviour. He added that the system’s expansion across multiple countries shows India’s payment infrastructure is scalable and globally competitive.

Ravi Gosain, President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), said the trial reflects the growing economic and cultural footprint of India globally. He noted that rising Indian tourist numbers have increased the demand for efficient and low-cost digital payment options, and that allowing UPI usage abroad could promote cashless travel while strengthening India-Japan ties in tourism and the digital economy.

UPI is currently among the world’s largest real-time payment systems by transaction volume and continues to play a central role in India’s digital payments landscape. The Japan pilot is expected to test its applicability in another major international market.