NPCI International Payments (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India, has partnered with Cambodia’s ACLEDA Bank to enable the acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Cambodia.
The agreement marks a major step in expanding India’s digital payments footprint in Southeast Asia.
In turn, the collaboration also enables the acceptance of Cambodia’s national QR system, Bakong (KHQR), across India.
The partnership brings full interoperability between India’s UPI and Cambodia’s KHQR networks.
This means Indian visitors can use familiar UPI apps to make payments at Cambodian merchant outlets, while Cambodian visitors in India can pay through KHQR-supported applications.
Both systems retain their security, speed and low-cost structure, ensuring seamless user experiences in both markets.
Benefits for Travellers
Travellers stand to gain immensely from UPI–KHQR interoperability.
Indian and Cambodian tourists will be able to make QR-based payments at restaurants, retail outlets, tourism sites and other businesses without needing cash or international cards.
This ease of payment is expected to enhance travel convenience and encourage tourism on both sides.
In a joint statement, the partners said the initiative would provide ‘a secure, interoperable and frictionless payment experience via UPI and KHQR’, significantly improving consumer convenience.
The collaboration immediately opens vast acceptance networks in both countries. Cambodia has more than 4.5 million KHQR merchant touch points, enabling extensive on-ground access for Indian tourists.
In India, Cambodian travellers can use KHQR through more than 709 million UPI QR codes, providing near-universal coverage.
What NIPL Says
Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL, said the cross-border partnership would simplify travel and provide trusted, familiar payment options to consumers.
“By enabling UPI and KHQR acceptance across both countries, we aim to make travel simpler and empower consumers with trusted and familiar payment options. This partnership reflects our commitment to expanding secure, inclusive and scalable digital payments on a global scale,” he said.
ACLEDA Bank described the partnership as a vital step towards ASEAN’s broader goals for digital economic integration.
Dr In Channy, its president and group managing director, stated that the collaboration supports regional payment interoperability and advances financial innovation. He further added that it will empower customers with fast, affordable and secure cross-border payments that strengthen trade and tourism.
India’s Broader Global Payments Push
India continues to expand international payment linkages. Last month, the RBI announced plans to interlink UPI with Europe’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) system.
The RBI and NIPL will work with the European Central Bank on technical and settlement arrangements to operationalise this link.
UPI is already accepted in countries including Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Mauritius, Qatar and France.
More than two million international merchants currently support UPI payments. NIPL is also assisting Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago and Peru in building UPI-like systems.
In November, UPI processed 20.47 billion transactions worth ₹26.32 trillion, reflecting its rapid expansion and dominance in India’s digital payments ecosystem.
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