Summary of this article
India Post launches UPI-based remittances from Qatar to India.
UPI now operates across 10 foreign countries.
Parliament changes MDR rules, but UPI remains free for consumers.
India Post and Qatar Post have launched a new money transfer service which will allow customers in Qatar to send funds directly to bank accounts in India using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The service, called PostTransfer, has been developed in collaboration with the Universal Postal Union (UPU), and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL). It was launched on August 15, coinciding with India’s 80th Independence Day.
Under the service, customers can visit participating post offices in Qatar to initiate money transfers to beneficiaries in India. The transfer is processed through UPI, India’s real-time payments system, and is designed for remittances to Indian bank accounts.
The initiative adds a postal channel to the existing options available to Indians living and working in Qatar for sending money home. Qatar has a large Indian expatriate population, making remittances between the two countries a significant part of the financial relationship.
How The Service Works
PostTransfer connects Qatar Post with India Post and the UPI infrastructure operated by NPCI. Customers in Qatar can initiate a transfer through Qatar Post, with the money being routed to the intended recipient’s bank account in India.
The service is different from using UPI to make a merchant payment abroad. In this case, UPI is being used as part of the infrastructure for a cross-border remittance from Qatar to India.
The launch also expands the international use cases being built around UPI. NPCI International has been working with payment networks and financial institutions in several countries to enable UPI-based payments and cross-border transactions.
Where UPI Is Already Accepted
UPI is currently accepted for merchant payments in Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Greece, Cambodia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to NPCI International. The acceptance is generally available at participating merchants rather than across every business in these countries.
UPI has also been linked with Singapore’s PayNow system for cross-border fund transfers between India and Singapore. Nepal has enabled cross-border UPI merchant payments, while Bhutan, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and the UAE have arrangements that allow Indian users to make UPI payments at participating locations.
France has also enabled UPI payments at select locations, including the Eiffel Tower and Galeries Lafayette, according to NPCI International.
The Qatar initiative is focused specifically on sending money from Qatar to India, rather than providing general UPI merchant acceptance in Qatar. It therefore represents a separate cross-border remittance use case for the payment system.
Current UPI MDR
Recently, the Parliament has passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which removes the statutory bar on charging Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on certain digital payments, including UPI.
The amendment does not impose a charge immediately. The government has clarified that consumers and small merchants will not face MDR, while no framework for future charges has been finalised yet.
