NPCI Bars QR Share & Pay For International UPI Transactions For P2M Payments

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has officially barred the use of QR Share & Pay for all international UPI person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. The restriction, outlined in a circular dated April 8, 2025, took effect on April 4.

According to NPCI, “QR Share & Pay shall not be allowed for all UPI Global P2M transactions and Payer PSP to ensure that Payer UPI app identifies the same.” The decision blocks payments made by scanning QR codes saved in a phone gallery, typically shared by merchants via messaging platforms.

Say you’re purchasing from a store overseas and receive a QR code via WhatsApp. If you save and scan that image using a UPI app like PhonePe or Paytm, the payment will now be blocked.

As per NPCI’s official website, UPI-based Bharat QR payments are currently accepted in at least seven countries, including France, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the UAE, and Bhutan.

How does QR Share & Pay Work? What Changes Now?

Previously, merchants (especially smaller ones) often shared QR codes through messaging apps, letting users scan the saved image to complete transactions. This was supported both domestically and internationally.

Going forward, this convenience is now limited to domestic transactions. For global use, only physical scanning at merchant outlets will be supported. Domestic use of QR Share & Pay still comes with a cap. The circular reiterates an existing rule: “QR share & pay shall have a limit of Rs 2,000/- for all P2M (non-verified offline merchants)...” That means if the merchant isn’t verified, users can’t send more than Rs 2,000 per transaction using a shared QR image.

The same circular also disables wallet and prepaid card loading via collect requests. In such transactions, the merchant sends a payment request, and the customer approves it. This method has been exploited in scams, leading to unauthorised deductions from users’ accounts.

Meanwhile, on April 12, NPCI experienced an outage across the nation.

“NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines. We are working to resolve the issue and will keep you updated. We regret the inconvenience caused,” the NPCI said in a post on X.

This was the second outing reported by NPCI this month, earlier on April 2, users reported an outage of UPI.