Oman will implement India’s UPI and RuPay Cards system in the Middle East after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. By adopting the United Payment Interface (UPI) and RuPay credit and debit cards from India, Oman will be the latest nation to use and accept “Made-in-India” payment methods.
During his two-day visit to the nation, Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan witnessed the growth. During the minister’s visit, an agreement for collaboration in fintech and payments was inked between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).
Details about Oman will implement India’s UPI and RuPay Cards system in the Middle East after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain:
With this, Oman has joined its neighbours Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as the fourth nation in the Middle East to begin using India’s in-house payments system.
The country from the Middle East has joined other countries that have already deployed UPI or are in the process of doing so, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan (in partnership with Liquid Group), as well as Nepal, Bhutan, France, the UK, and Russia.
The NPCI has been working to expand the usage of UPI internationally and has created a separate organisation for the purpose called NPCI International. The UK-based PayXpert and the payments organisation signed a contract in August to implement the UPI and RuPay card systems there.
In total, NPCI International is in discussions for UPI integration with close to 30 nations. In February 2022, Nepal became the first nation to utilise India’s UPI.
The most recent data shows that 678 billion UPI transactions, totaling INR 11.16 trillion, were made in September 2022. Both numbers showed increases from month to month of 3.2% and 4%, respectively.
The total amount of UPI transactions in 2022 is INR 89.10 lakh crore ($1.09 trillion), which is 22% more than INR 73 lakh crore ($970 billion) in 2021. By the end of 2022, UPI transactions are projected to exceed INR 118.8 Lakh Cr, which would represent a nearly 62% rise year over year.
For the approximately 6.50 million Indians living in Oman, whose benefits would come from using the payments system they are accustomed to, UPI integration would be crucial. With more than $7.5 billion spent, India is also one of the biggest investors in the Middle Eastern nation.
Trade between India and Oman nearly doubled to $10 billion in FY22 from $5.4 billion in FY21.
