NEW DELHI: Indian travellers in Japan may soon be using Unified Payment Interface (UPI) as NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), on Tuesday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NTT DATA Japan, a core subsidiary of the NTT DATA Group and a provider of IT and business services headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

As per a press release, the MoU establishes the foundation for a strategic alliance, marking a significant step towards Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance in the Japanese market to enhance payment experience for Indian tourists.

NTT DATA Japan is a leading player in the payments ecosystem and operates CAFIS, Japan’s largest card payment processing network. CAFIS connects a wide range of acquirers, issuers, merchants, and ATM operators across the country, providing the backbone for Japan’s payment infrastructure.

“Through this collaboration, NIPL and NTT DATA Japan will jointly assess and work towards facilitating UPI acceptance across NTT DATA-acquired merchant locations throughout Japan. UPI integration will allow merchants in Japan to offer faster checkouts, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive business growth,” the release said.

Between January and August 2025 alone, over 208,000 Indian visitors travelled to Japan, a 36 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024 (152,947 visitors*), highlighting the rapidly growing importance of this corridor. Following the introduction of UPI in the Japanese market, Indian tourists will be able to make seamless payments at merchant locations acquired by NTT DATA by scanning QR codes using their familiar UPI applications.

Ritesh Shukla, MD & CEO of NPCI International, said, “This partnership is an important step toward improving the digital payment experience for Indian travellers and simplifying cross-border payments. It also reflects our ambition to take UPI to more international markets and establish it as one of the most trusted digital payment systems globally.”

“This collaboration marks an important milestone as we expand payment choices for inbound travellers from India,” said Masanori Kurihara, Head of Payments in Japan, NTT DATA. “By initiating the partnership for UPI acceptance in Japan, we aim to make shopping and payments more convenient for Indian tourists, while helping Japanese merchants capture new opportunities.”