UPI payments have become one of the most preferred modes of payment in recent times. With its rising popularity, many features have been added to UPI to improve users’ experience. Here are some of the latest UPI features that can be used to make transactions in India and abroad.
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WhatsApp users can use UPI payments
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has recently lifted the limit on user onboarding for WhatsApp Pay, the payment feature of the messaging platform. This will enable users to make UPI payments through WhatsApp.
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“National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has removed the UPI user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay (Third Party App Provider), with immediate effect. With this development, WhatsApp Pay can now extend UPI services to its entire user base in India,” NPCI said in a statement.
Prior to this, NPCI had allowed WhatsApp Pay to expand its UPI user base in a phased manner.
Use UPI in foreign countries
In 2025, UPI users can use the platform to make payments abroad. Although UPI is not universally applicable, its presence is expanding significantly. From July 2024 onwards, the Eiffel Tower in Paris has become the first French merchant to accept UPI payments. Apart from France, countries such as Sri Lanka, Mauritius, UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal accept UPI payments.
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Cashback offers
RuPay JCB credit and debit cards offer 25% cashback on all international PoS (point-of-sale) transactions in countries such as Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. There will be no minimum transaction amount to receive cashback if the RuPay card is activated for international transactions. The cashback will limited to ₹3,000 per transaction. Users can receive a maximum of ₹15,000 cashback within the cashback period from October 30, 2024, to January 29, 2025.
Link international number to UPI
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can link their NRO or NRE accounts to UPI, such as iMobile (ICICI Bank), BHIM, and PhonePe, as well as their international numbers. International numbers from the following countries are eligible for UPI payments:
- Australia
- Canada
- France
- Hong Kong
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- UAE
- UK
- US
One wallet for international travellers
UPI One World wallet was introduced for international travellers visiting India, UPI. The wallet can be used to make payments in India through QR codes. If there is any balance left in the wallet, it is transferred back to the original payment source, as per the forex rules. Passports and visas will be required to complete the entire KYC process.
UPI Circle to delegate transaction
UPI introduced the UPI Circle feature in 2024 to delegate transactions made to your immediate family members. This feature allows a user to fully delegate or authorise up to 5 users to make transactions through the bank account of the main user.
There is a feature to limit transactions as well. Each fully delegated user can spend up to ₹15,000 every month and ₹5,000 per transaction.
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Personal Accident Policy
Several RuPay cardholders worldwide can avail of a personal accident policy. RuPay Platinum cardholders can be insured for ₹2,00,000, while RuPay Select cardholders are eligible for ₹10,00,000 insurance. However, to qualify for this, at least one successful RuPay card transaction at any PoS or e-commerce site, both intra/inter-bank, must be made within 30 days before the accident.
