ICICI Bank supports NRIs to make UPI payments in India

By Gloria Mathias

ICICI Bank has announced that it has enabled NRI customers to use their international mobile number to make UPI payments instantly in India, thereby enhancing their convenience in making everyday payments.

With this facility, the bank’s NRI customers can make payments for their utility bills and merchant and eCommerce transactions with their international mobile number registered with their NRE / NRO bank account held by ICICI Bank in India. The Bank has made this service available through its mobile banking app, iMobile Pay. Earlier, NRIs had to register an Indian mobile number with their banks to make UPI payments.

To bring this facility to market, ICICI Bank has leveraged the international infrastructure laid down by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for convenient UPI usage across countries. The Bank offers this facility in 10 countries: the USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

NRI customers of the bank can make UPI payments by scanning any Indian QR code and sending money to a UPI ID, any Indian mobile number or an Indian bank account.

Siddhartha Mishra, Head of Digital Channels and Partnerships at ICICI Bank, said, “We are delighted to partner with NPCI to launch the UPI facility on international mobile numbers through iMobile Pay. With this facility, our NRI customers residing in 10 countries do not need to switch to an Indian mobile number to pay using UPI.”

“This launch reinforces our commitment to provide our NRI customers with innovative solutions, for them to have a safe, secure and hassle-free payment experience. We are witnessing a positive response from our NRI customers who have started using this facility. With this initiative, we intend to leverage NPCI’s UPI infrastructure to strengthen and transform the digital payments ecosystem globally,” added Mishra.