PayPal’s new platform lets UPI users buy from global retailers
PayPal World will allow users of India's UPI system to make purchases from international merchants that accept PayPal.
PayPal Holdings Inc. announced a new global payment platform that will connect major digital wallets worldwide, with India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) among the launch partners.
The platform, called PayPal World, will allow users of India's UPI system to make purchases from international merchants that accept PayPal, the San Jose-based company said Wednesday.
Indian consumers will be able to use UPI to buy from U.S. online retailers by clicking PayPal checkout buttons, which will then display familiar UPI payment options.
"The integration of UPI on PayPal World's platform will mark a significant step in expanding UPI's global footprint," said Ritesh Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI International Payments Limited. "It aligns with our vision to make cross-border payments more seamless, secure, and inclusive. This collaboration will enhance convenience for Indian users making payments abroad and enable global businesses and merchants to tap into a growing base of UPI users."
The announcement positions PayPal to tap into India's massive digital payments market, where UPI processed over 100 billion transactions in fiscal 2024. The integration comes as PayPal seeks to expand its global reach amid increasing competition in the payments sector.
PayPal World represents the company's most ambitious attempt to connect disparate payment systems across borders. The platform will initially link five major payment providers: Latin America's Mercado Pago, NPCI International Payments Limited (UPI), PayPal, China's Tenpay Global, and Venmo.
"PayPal World is a first-of-its-kind payments ecosystem that will bring together many of the world's largest payment systems and digital wallets on a single platform," said Alex Chriss, President and CEO of PayPal. "The challenge of moving money across borders is incredibly complex, and yet this platform will make it so simple for nearly two billion consumers and businesses."
The platform is expected to go live this fall, beginning with partner wallets connecting to PayPal and Venmo. Businesses will be able to accept payments from multiple international digital wallets without additional technical integration work, PayPal said.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan