NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan’s NTT DATA Japan. This agreement is a major step towards the acceptance of UPI payments in the Japanese market, further enhancing the payment experience for Indian tourists.
Under this partnership, NIPL and NTT DATA Japan will work together to enable UPI payments at all NTT DATA merchants in Japan. The integration of UPI will help merchants in Japan offer faster customer payments, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and growing their business.
Ritesh Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI International, said, “This agreement with NTT DATA lays the foundation for UPI acceptance in Japan. This partnership is an important step towards improving the digital payment experience for Indian travelers and simplifying cross-border payments.” He also said that this partnership reflects India’s ambition to take UPI to more international markets.
This partnership assumes significance as over 208,000 Indians visited Japan this year (from January to August), a 36% increase from the same period in 2024. NPCI stated that once UPI is launched in Japan, Indian tourists will be able to scan QR codes using their familiar UPI apps and make payments conveniently at NTT DATA-affiliated merchants.
Masanori Kurihara, Head of Payments, NTT DATA Japan, said, “This partnership is an important milestone as we expand payment options for travelers from India.” He added, “By bringing UPI to Japan, we aim to make shopping and payments more convenient for Indian tourists, while also helping Japanese merchants capture new business opportunities.”
