Coinbase halts UPI payments for crypto within three days of India launch

Within days of announcing its launch in India with much fanfare, Coinbase has halted payments via united payments interface (UPI) on its app. 

The company, however, declined to comment on the matter. 

Last week, the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) said it was not aware of any crypto exchanges using the UPI after Coinbase revealed it to be the payment mechanism on its platform.

“As we enter the Indian market, we are actively experimenting with a number of payment methods and partners to enable our customers to seamlessly make their crypto purchases. One of these methods is UPI, a simple to use and rapid payment system,” a Coinbase spokesperson said on Friday in response to the NPCI statement.

“We are aware of the recent statement published by the NPCI regarding the use of UPI by cryptocurrency exchanges. We are committed to working with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure that we are aligned with local expectations and industry norms,” it added.

The company’s India tech hub employs 300 full-time staff and the company plans to hire over 1,000 people in the country this year. Coinbase Ventures, the company’s venture capital arm, has already invested $150 million in home-grown Indian technology companies in the crypto and Web3 space, and is identifying new opportunities to help Indian founders scale, the company said.

Coinbase had entered India even as domestic cryptocurrency exchanges were witnessing a sharp fall in volumes in the first week of April following the implementation of a new tax regime.