UPI goes live in Qatar, starting with duty-free stores at Hamad airport

With Qatar Duty Free onboard, UPI expands abroad, offering Indians cashless payments on overseas trips.

Indian travelers can use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps to make purchases in Qatar, which this week became the eighth country to allow the popular digital transactions system.

 

Qatar Duty Free was the first merchant to accept QR code-based UPI transactions, marking another step in the global expansion of India’s real-time payments system.

 

Seamless spending for Indian tourists

 

A partnership between NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), Qatar National Bank (QNB), and Japanese payment gateway NETSTARS enabled UPI acceptance at select point-of-sale (POS) terminals in Qatar.

 

More tourist spots, retail stores and hospitality venues in Qatar are expected to accept UPI payments. Indians are the second-largest group of international travellers to Qatar. UPI in Qatar means:

 

• Indian travelers don’t have to carry large amounts of cash

 

• Foreign exchange hassles will be reduced

 

• Real-time, secure payments through familiar UPI apps like PhonePe, Google Pay or BHIM

 

The partnership for UPI reflects efforts to build “a truly interoperable global payment network” that makes cross-border transactions simpler, said Ritesh Shukla, managing director and chief executive officer of NIPL.

 

Boost for Qatari retail and tourism

 

UPI is expected to increase transaction volumes at merchant outlets, particularly in retail and tourism. By enabling Indian visitors to pay digitally, businesses can attract more customers and reduce reliance on cash.

 

UPI will “boost cashless transactions, strengthen interoperability in payments, and help local merchants thrive”, said Yousef Mahmoud Al-Neama, group chief business officer of Qatar National Bank.

 

UPI’s growing global footprint

 

Qatar is the eighth country to enable UPI for Indians travelling abroad. The system is already live in:

 

• Bhutan

 

• France

 

• Mauritius

 

• Nepal

 

• Singapore

 

• Sri Lanka

 

• United Arab Emirates

 

Each market has rolled out UPI selectively, often starting with tourism and retail hubs. While usage abroad is still limited to specific locations, the expansion demonstrates UPI’s growing role as a cross-border payment solution.

 

What Indian travellers need to know

 

App settings: Ensure your UPI app supports international payments and enable the feature before departure.

 

Transaction limits: Some apps or merchants may apply caps on transaction value.

 

Availability: UPI acceptance is limited to select outlets, so carry an international card or some local currency as backup.

 

With Qatar now added to the list, UPI is steadily positioning itself as a familiar companion for Indians abroad, making foreign trips easier, safer and more cashless.