India reportedly in talks to link its payment system with Alipay+

India’s government and central bank are reportedly in discussions with Ant International, the overseas arm of Chinese fintech firm Ant Group, to connect Alipay+ with India’s instant payments system for cross-border transactions, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The potential integration aims to facilitate easier payments for Indian tourists.

It would allow them to use India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with merchants abroad who accept Alipay+.

Neither the Indian finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India, nor the National Payments Corporation of India confirmed the talks.

Ant International also did not comment. The discussions are not publicly announced, and details remain unverified.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

A possible UPI deal matches Alipay+’s global growth plan

The talks could follow Ant International’s existing playbook rather than a new direction.
Alipay+ serves businesses as a B2B “unified wallet gateway,” linking merchants to many payment methods through one integration 1. It operates separately from a consumer payment app.
Alipay+ already plugs into 10 national QR payment schemes, including those in Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea 2.
A link to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s instant payments system, would extend its approach of partnering with local rails. Alipay+ says it connects more than 1.8 billion user accounts across over 40 digital payment partners 2.

India’s data localisation rules may be the hardest part

Any integration effort may run into India’s data localisation policy.
The Reserve Bank of India requires all payment data, including end-to-end transaction details, to sit in systems located only in India, with limited cross-border transaction exceptions 3.
Processing can happen abroad, then the data must be erased from foreign systems and returned to India within one business day or 24 hours from payment processing, whichever comes first 3.
If Ant International meets these requirements, it could set a compliance blueprint for other global payment platforms seeking UPI partnerships.