Five countries have adopted UPI: Finance Ministry

The Union finance ministry on Tuesday said that five countries- Singapore, UAE, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan-have accepted BHIM UPI QR so far.
In a written reply to a query of Rajya Sabha member Kartikeya Sharma, the ministry further said that the acceptance of the UPI has facilitated Indian travellers to make payments for retail purchases at international merchant establishments.
The ministry reply came when the member asked how many countries of the world have adopted UPI so far.
The finance ministry also stated that NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of NPCI, has undertaken various initiatives across nations to enable cross-border acceptance of BHIM, UPI or QR at merchant establishment.
Kartikeya Sharma also wanted to know whether the number of cases of online fraud through UPI registered in the last three years is increasing or not.
The ministry replied the nodal agency, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has taken some steps to safeguard customers. While answering questions in Rajya Sabha, raised by a member Kartikeya Sharma, the ministry said this.
The steps include:
• UPI is a single click two factor authentication enabled using Device.
• Fingerprint/Passcode as the first factor & UPI PIN as second factor of authentication.
• UPI has a concept of device binding wherein the mobile number of a user is bound with his mobile device thereby making it impossible for anyone to interject. Additionally, the user requires his debit card credentials and finally an OTP for UPI PIN creation to facilitate linkage with his/her bank account to the UPI app.
• UPI apps provide an In-app intimation if a user is initiating payment to an unknown beneficiary. It also verifies the end beneficiary name (as per banking records) to the remitter while making payment thereby giving a clear indication to whom the money is being transferred. The pin page of UPI also prominently displays a message that by entering UPI pin, he/she is transferring money to someone else.
• Further, customer awareness is being carried out by multiple stakeholders in the Payment Ecosystem. Government has also come up with the National Cyber-crime reporting portal wherein a user can register his grievance instantly by calling on 1930. This helps in holding payments at the beneficiary Banks’ end, if reported instantly.”