Pine Labs and WEBXPAY partner for cross-border payments in Sri Lanka

By Divya Shah

Why it matters: By enabling Sri Lankan merchants to accept Indian payment instruments through existing integrations, Pine Labs and WEBXPAY are reducing friction in international commerce, improving payment accessibility for travellers and creating new revenue opportunities for merchants. The model could serve as a blueprint for broader adoption of cross-border digital payments across Asia.

Pine Labs has partnered with WEBXPAY to enable Sri Lankan merchants to accept a wide range of Indian payment methods, also known as a Payment Aggregator-to-Payment Aggregator (PA-on-PA) collaboration in Sri Lanka under the Reserve Bank of India’s authorised PA-CB framework. 

The partnership allows WEBXPAY’s merchant network across hospitality, travel, retail and e-commerce sectors to accept payment methods commonly used by Indian consumers, including UPI, UPI AutoPay, cards issued by major Indian banks, net banking across more than 100 banks, EMI options and Credit on UPI. 

Under the arrangement, these payment options will be embedded within existing merchant integrations and supported with T+1 settlement, enabling businesses to begin accepting Indian payments without making changes to their payment infrastructure. 

It is designed to make transactions more convenient for Indian travellers visiting Sri Lanka by allowing them to pay using familiar payment methods. For Sri Lankan merchants, the capability is expected to help reduce checkout friction and improve conversion rates from Indian customers. 

Tanya Naik, Senior EVP & Head of Online Business at Pine Labs, said, “At Pine Labs, we believe the next frontier of cross-border commerce is making that experience portable. Sri Lanka is our first activation under the PA-CB framework, and we intend to replicate this model across Southeast Asia and every market where Indian travellers and consumers are a meaningful commercial force.” 

India remains Sri Lanka’s largest source of tourist arrivals, making seamless payment experiences increasingly important for local businesses serving international visitors. 

Thilak Piyadigama, Executive Chairman of WEBXPAY, said, “Indian customers already know and trust payment methods such as UPI, cards and net banking. Bringing that familiarity into the online checkout experience of Sri Lankan merchants can remove a significant point of friction and help businesses convert more Indian demand into revenue.” 

He added: “We selected Pine Labs because of the strength of its Indian payment infrastructure, breadth of payment options and ability to support a regulated cross-border model at scale. Together, we are creating a practical digital payment bridge that gives Sri Lankan businesses greater access to one of the world’s largest and most dynamic consumer markets.” 

The companies said the partnership creates a scalable framework for supporting cross-border commerce between India and Sri Lanka, with the potential to expand the model into additional international markets in the future.