NPCI pilots ‘UPI One World’ wallet for foreign delegates at India AI summit
The pilot comes as India continues to position its domestic payments infrastructure for cross-border and visitor use cases.
India’s retail payments body National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has rolled out a pilot version of its “UPI One World” wallet for foreign delegates attending the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, allowing visitors to make merchant payments using India’s instant payments network without opening a local bank account.
The facility is being offered to delegates from more than 40 countries attending the February 16–20 summit. Under the pilot, travellers can load a prepaid wallet using international cards and use it to scan QR codes for person-to-merchant transactions on the Unified Payments Interface network.
NPCI said the wallet is accessible through authorised prepaid payment instrument providers at New Delhi’s international airport and at a dedicated counter at the summit venue. Users are required to complete identity verification through passport and visa documentation within a mobile application before activating the wallet. The system allows capped wallet top-ups, and unused balances can be transferred back to the original funding source in line with foreign exchange rules.
The pilot comes as India continues to position its domestic payments infrastructure for cross-border and visitor use cases. UPI has seen rapid adoption domestically, processing billions of monthly transactions, and regulators and industry participants have been exploring ways to extend its utility to international travellers and merchants.
Speaking on the development, Sohini Rajola, Executive Director – Growth, NPCI said, “UPI is the world’s largest real‑time payment system. By extending the ‘UPI One World’ service to foreign guests at the India AI Impact Summit, we are providing a convenient way to experience India’s real‑time payments ecosystem and Made in India technology. This initiative also offers a glimpse into how smoother cross‑border payment systems can support a more connected global digital economy.”
NPCI did not disclose how long the pilot will run or whether it will be expanded beyond summit participants.
The organisation said certain countries are excluded from the programme in line with regulatory guidance.
NPCI operates several retail payment systems in India, including UPI, and works with banks and payment providers to run settlement infrastructure. The pilot reflects ongoing efforts to test new use cases for India’s digital payments stack in controlled environments.