Tokyo: India’s homegrown digital payments platform, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), is set to make its way to Japan, marking another major step in the global expansion of India’s fintech infrastructure. According to a report by Nikkei Asia, the move is aimed at making everyday payments easier for the growing number of Indian tourists visiting Japan by allowing them to pay through familiar QR-based systems linked directly to their Indian bank accounts.

Launched in 2016 as a government-backed initiative, UPI has transformed the way Indians transact, enabling instant bank-to-bank transfers through mobile applications, usually at no cost to users. Its biggest strength lies in interoperability — a single QR code can be scanned by any UPI-enabled app, regardless of the bank or fintech provider behind it. This simplicity has helped UPI become the dominant payment method in India and an increasingly attractive model for overseas markets.

Trial rollout planned for 2026

The Japan rollout is expected to begin on a trial basis during the financial year 2026. Japanese IT services firm NTT Data is working closely with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable UPI payments in the country. The partnership is exploring technical and regulatory mechanisms to link Indian and Japanese payment systems, allowing seamless cross-border transactions.

Once implemented, Indian tourists visiting Japan will be able to pay at participating merchants using UPI apps on their smartphones. The transaction amount will be debited directly from their bank accounts in India, eliminating the need for currency exchange, international cards or cash-based payments.

NTT Data already plays a significant role in the payments ecosystem across India and Southeast Asia. Its services are used by around 60 lakh stores in India, including large e-commerce platforms. In Japan, the company plans to actively promote UPI adoption among local merchants by integrating it into existing payment terminals and processing infrastructure.

Capturing rising Indian tourist spending

A key objective behind introducing UPI in Japan is to capture the rising spending power of Indian tourists. Visitor numbers from India have grown steadily in recent years, reflecting broader trends in outbound travel from the country.

Japan welcomed 3,15,100 visitors from India in 2025, a 35 per cent increase compared to 2024, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation cited in the report. Indian travellers are increasingly drawn to Japan for leisure, business and cultural tourism, and are known to be comfortable with digital payments, particularly UPI.

This trend mirrors the rapid growth in overseas travel by Indians globally. Consulting firm McKinsey has projected that outbound trips from India could rise sharply from 1.3 crore in 2022 to 9 crore by 2040, driven by rising incomes, improved air connectivity and the expansion of the middle class.

UPI’s dominance in India

UPI’s success at home has made it an attractive exportable model. Unlike closed-loop payment systems, UPI was designed as a shared public digital infrastructure. Banks and fintech firms build their own applications on a common standard rather than competing proprietary networks, ensuring scale, efficiency and low costs.

In 2024, UPI accounted for 58 per cent of in-store payments in India, according to US-based payments firm Worldpay. This figure is projected to rise to 76 per cent by 2030. Over the same period, cash usage is expected to fall sharply from 15 per cent to just 7 per cent, underscoring India’s rapid shift towards digital transactions.

Transaction volumes continue to surge. Data from NPCI shows that UPI transactions rose 42 per cent in the financial year 2024 to 185.8 billion. In 2023, nearly half — about 49 per cent — of all instant payment transactions worldwide were processed through UPI, highlighting its global scale.

A June 2025 report by the International Monetary Fund described UPI as the “world’s largest real-time payment system,” reinforcing its status as a benchmark for digital public infrastructure.

Competition and global expansion

UPI is not alone in expanding cross-border QR-based payment systems. China’s Ant Group has been rolling out Alipay+, which allows a single QR code to work with multiple payment apps at partner merchants across more than 100 countries and regions. However, UPI’s public-platform model and low transaction costs have made it particularly attractive to governments and regulators.

Beyond Japan, NPCI is actively helping several countries build or enhance their digital payment infrastructure using UPI technology. Nations such as Peru and Namibia are working with India to develop real-time payment systems inspired by the UPI framework.

Since its first overseas launch in Bhutan in 2021, UPI has expanded to eight countries, including Singapore, France, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates. Japan is now poised to become the next major addition to this growing list.

Conclusion

The planned introduction of UPI in Japan represents more than just a convenience for Indian tourists. It signals India’s growing influence in shaping global digital payment standards and exporting its fintech expertise. As Indian outbound travel rises and countries seek efficient, low-cost payment solutions, UPI’s presence in Japan could pave the way for wider adoption across developed economies in the years ahead.