Union Minister Piyush Goyal Inaugurates UPI In Qatar

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, has inaugurated India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for the first time in Qatar at Lulu Mall, Doha. It is for the first time UPI is being offered for payment purpose in Qatar, which will enable Indian tourists and residents to send money directly via their mobile phones instantly.

UPI is a real-time digital payments system conceived in India, whereby customers are enabled to send and receive money directly from their bank accounts in real-time mode. UPI is one of India's fastest-used modes of payments, processing billions of payments during a year.

Payments by Travellers

Qatar's Indian tourists and expats can now pay at restaurants, hotels, shops, and duty-free stores by UPI. Transactions are directly enabled by a mobile app from a banking account, but it never demands cash nor conversion of foreign money.

UPI payments are settled in real-time, providing a convenient and reliable way for customers to pay for purchases. It can be accepted anywhere a store is empowered by an appropriate QR code or point of sale having UPI functionality.

Benefits for Merchants

This process entails transferring money, real-time, thereby cutting down on time required for processing transactions.

Digital transaction records are also generated at the same time, through which merchants are provided with accurate and factual receipts. This assists for easy sale recording and accountability.

Collaboration Behind the Launch

The UPI for Qatar was rolled out by a collaborative effort of India's National Payments Corporation (NPCI), Qatar National Bank, and other domestic partners. It is incorporated into a merchant-payment infrastructure, so customers pay through UPI-enabled applications at participating merchants.

Goyal added that UPI's introduction allows for a direct and seamless method of settling money transfers between Indian users and companies based in Qatar.

Context and Background

UPI has also been rolled out in many countries apart from India, including Singapore, UAE, France, and Mauritius. It being available even in Qatar also continues to follow the trend of getting the system available for Indian travellers and abroad-based expats.

UPI's adoption across borders is focuses on delivering a universal payment experience to customers and bringing digital payments across borders together.

Implementation and Application

Merchants participating in the UPI system in Qatar display QR codes or have point-of-sale terminals that accept UPI payments. Users can scan the QR code with their UPI-enabled app or select UPI as a payment option on the terminal to complete a transaction.