Indian travellers to soon pay via UPI in Malaysia

Bengaluru: In a big step towards taking India’s digital payment innovation global, Razorpay on Thursday announced that Indian travellers will soon be able to make UPI payments in Malaysia.

The move comes through Razorpay’s Malaysian entity, Curlec, in partnership with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India.

The collaboration, formalised at the Global Fintech Fest 2025, marks a major milestone in expanding UPI’s acceptance beyond Indian borders.

With this integration, millions of Indian tourists visiting Malaysia will be able to make instant, secure payments to local businesses using their preferred UPI apps — without needing international cards or worrying about currency exchange hassles.

In 2024, more than one million Indian tourists visited Malaysia and spent over Rs 110 billion, a sharp 71.7 per cent rise from the previous year.

The growing flow of travellers between the two nations highlights the need for simpler, cashless, and cost-efficient payment solutions.

The introduction of UPI in Malaysia is expected to make transactions more seamless, reduce foreign exchange costs, and benefit both travellers and local merchants.

UPI, India’s flagship real-time payment system, has revolutionised the way Indians make transactions.

In September 2025 alone, it processed nearly 20 billion payments, offering instant and secure money transfers at an unprecedented scale.

By connecting to this robust ecosystem, Malaysian businesses can tap into a massive base of Indian travellers who trust and prefer UPI for their day-to-day payments.

Under the new arrangement, Malaysian merchants will be able to accept payments directly through Razorpay Curlec’s platform, with settlements made in the local currency, ringgit (RM).

This will allow Indian users to pay instantly via their UPI-enabled apps, just like they do in India.

Commenting on the development, Shashank Kumar, Managing Director and Co-founder of Razorpay, said, “UPI has totally changed the way India pays, showing what’s possible when innovation and inclusion come together at scale.”

“Now, with Curlec, we’re bringing that same energy to Malaysia — helping businesses and travellers enjoy the speed, trust, and simplicity that make India’s digital payments so powerful. This isn’t just about payments; it’s about creating a truly borderless fintech future across Asia,” he said.

IANS