Trinidad & Tobago 8th country to have UPI: How to use service abroad

New Delhi, Jul 7, 2025 

Indian visitors can scan a QR code at partner merchants and pay directly from their domestic bank accounts in rupees

Trinidad and Tobago has become the eighth country and the first in the Caribbean where Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be available for Indian travelers through local partnership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modilast week made a two-day visit to the island on the second leg of his five-nation tour. He congratulated the country for adopting the digital payment service through BHIM app. UPI enables Indians to skip currency exchanges and swipe fees in countries that have partnered for the service.

Where can you use UPI abroad?

UPI is now live in these countries through partnerships with local payment providers, according to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages the payment service.

UAE

Singapore

France

Bhutan

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Mauritius

Trinidad and Tobago

This means Indian visitors can scan a QR code at partnered merchants and pay directly from their domestic bank accounts in rupees, while the merchant receives the local currency.

What do you need to do to activate UPI abroad?

Using UPI overseas is simple, but you need to check a few boxes:

-A UPI-enabled app installed on your smartphone.

-Your Indian bank account is linked to UPI.

-International roaming enabled for OTPs.

NPCI recommends ensuring your bank and UPI app support “UPI Global”. For example, BHIM App has a “UPI Global” feature that allows you to enable international payments securely.

How to make a UPI payment abroad

-Scan the merchant’s QR code: These are usually NPCI’s “UPI Global” QR codes.

-Enter the amount in the local currency or INR (the app does the conversion).

-Authenticate with your UPI PIN.

Payment is processed instantly, and you get a confirmation.

Some apps also allow you to set spending limits or disable global UPI temporarily for security.

Are there charges for UPI abroad?

According to NPCI, small cross-border transactions may carry nominal conversion charges. However, these are often lower than debit/credit card foreign transaction fees.

As India’s UPI network grows globally, travellers have fewer reasons to rely on cash or forex cards. NPCI has hinted at further expansions in Europe and the Caribbean, so Indian wallets could soon become truly borderless.

[The Business Standard]