New Delhi: NPCI International Payments Limited, the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India, has officially partnered with ACLEDA Bank Plc to launch Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance in Cambodia.

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The first phase enables millions of Indian travellers to make seamless QR payments at over 4.5 million Cambodian merchants, with a two-way corridor to follow, an official statement said on Wednesday.

While the first phase prioritises incoming Indian travellers, the partnership is explicitly designed to scale, it said.

In the subsequent phase, the corridor will become fully bi-directional.

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Cambodian citizens visiting India will soon be able to use their domestic banking and digital payment applications to scan millions of UPI QR codes across the country, completing a highly advanced, two-way interoperable financial network through Bakong’s KHQR, it said.

The collaboration went live following a formal ceremony in Phnom Penh, attended by Chea Serey, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), alongside high-level representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The collaboration would help enhance traveller convenience and also help Cambodian merchants access real-time payment.

Currently, UPI is accepted in eight countries - Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar and Sri Lanka - enabling Indian travellers to make seamless payments abroad through familiar platforms. Cambodia has become the ninth country to join the list.

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