ICICI bank enables UPI payments in India for NRI customers with international numbers

In a bid to foster easy payment, ICICI bank on Monday announced that it has enabled NRI customers to sign up for UPI using international mobile numbers to make payments within India. 

ICICI Bank’s NRI customers can use their international mobile numbers, registered with their NRE/NRO bank accounts in India, for UPI-powered bill payments, online and offline transactions. 

According to the bank, the bank has made this service available through its mobile banking app iMobile Pay which will significantly enhance convenience of making everyday payments.

The transaction limit for now is INR 1 Lakh per day, just like Indian bank account holders. And there are no charges applicable for NRIs for paying through UPI under this system. 

"With this facility, the NRI customers of the bank can make payments for their utility bills, merchant and e-commerce transactions with their international mobile number registered with their NRE/NRO bank account held with ICICI Bank in India," a statement released by the bank said.

Earlier, NRIs had to register an Indian mobile number with their bank accounts to make UPI payments across 10 countries, namely, the USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The private bank has collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to enable this feature for numbers from ten countries, including the USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Speaking on the initiative, Sidharatha Mishra, head of digital channels and partnerships at ICICI Bank, said, “We are witnessing a positive response from our NRI customers who have started using this facility. With this initiative, we intend to leverage on NPCI’s UPI Infrastructure in strengthening and transforming the digital payments ecosystem globally.”

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

"With this facility, our NRI customers residing in 10 countries do not need to switch to an Indian mobile number to pay using UPI," Sidharatha Mishra, Head – Digital Channels and Partnerships, ICICI Bank, said.

According to him, with this initiative, the bank intends to leverage on NPCI's UPI (Unified Payments Interface) infrastructure in "strengthening and transforming the digital payments ecosystem globally".

UPI has already seen success in countries like Singapore and the UAE, and the payment interface is also expanding to Ghana soon. Reportedly, India and Ghana are collaborating to simplify and reduce the cost of cross-border money transfers between the two nations. 

Countries like Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bhutan, Nepal, UAE and Canada have also deployed UPI in their respective countries.