Malaysia's PayNet, India's NPCI to launch cross-border QR payments

Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) have signed an agreement to enable cross-border QR payments between Malaysia and India.

The collaboration aims to allow Malaysians and Indians to make payments using their local payment apps while traveling.

The rollout will occur in two phases: Indian travelers in Malaysia will be able to use UPI-enabled apps at DuitNow QR merchants, which include over 2.9 million locations nationwide.

In the second phase, Malaysians in India will be able to scan UPI QR codes at millions of merchant locations.

PayNet’s CEO noted that the initiative could support increased cross-border payments and tourism, especially with Malaysia expecting over two million Indian visitors in 2026.

NIPL’s CEO highlighted the goal of expanding UPI’s global reach through interoperable, real-time payment systems.

The partnership supports broader economic links between the two countries.

🔗 Source: PayNet

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The India-Malaysia deal fits into established cross-border payment plans

Malaysia has already linked its DuitNow QR system with Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia 1.
In the first half of 2025, Malaysia processed 11.8 million cross-border QR payments worth RM967 million 2.
India is widening the reach of UPI (India’s real-time bank-to-bank payments network), which is already live or linked in places including Singapore, the UAE, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Mauritius, with acceptance starting in Europe including France 3.
The push targets direct settlement between the Indian rupee and local currencies, skipping the usual US dollar middle step in retail transactions 4.

Beyond tourism, the link pressures card networks and the US dollar in retail settlement

A government-backed link offers another route for some retail payments, which may lower reliance on Visa and Mastercard rails plus their fees 4.
Small merchants can take payments from a large base of regional tourists without setting up traditional card acceptance 2.
Adoption still rests on traveller habits, since many stick with cards for chargebacks and fraud protection 1.
These two-country connections act as building blocks for Project Nexus (a Bank for International Settlements initiative to connect national instant-payment systems through a shared hub), with rollout on track for 2026 2.