RBI Policy: India-bound travellers to be allowed to use UPI: Governor - Moneycontrol

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to extend Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for merchant payments for travellers coming from abroad, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das while making Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announcements on February 8.

He also said that the RBI will launch a pilot project in 12 cities wherein a machine will vend coins based on QR codes.

"These vending machines will dispense coins against debit to the customer’s account using UPI instead of physical tendering of banknotes," he said.

Based on the learnings from the pilot, guidelines will be issued to banks to promote distribution of coins using these machines," he added.

The transactions would work just as they would with an international debit card, and the foreign currency will be deducted from the user’s bank account.

According to the company, all international merchant outlets in the UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan that have a local QR code are supported.