‘Indians can now make payments abroad’: PayPal to launch new UPI-enabled cross-border payments platform, PayPal World

Global payments firm PayPal on Wednesday announced PayPal World, a partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), to launch a new cross-border payments platform.

What is  PayPal World?

PayPal World, expected to go live later this year, will allow consumers to make cross-border payments to global businesses, allowing interoperability between local payment systems and PayPal.

Incidentally, PayPal has also onboarded some of the world’s other largest digital wallets - Brazil’s Mercado Pago, Tencent Holdings’ Tenpay Global, and its subsidiary Venmo as partners for the initiative.

India’s NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the global arm behind India's UPI, is one of the five founding partners of the initiative alongside PayPal, Venmo, China’s Tenpay Global (Weixin Pay) and Latin America’s Mercado Pago.

Collectively, these platforms reported to have nearly two billion users globally.

“The integration of UPI on PayPal World’s platform will mark a significant step in expanding UPI’s global footprint. It aligns with our vision to make cross-border payments more seamless, secure, and inclusive,” NIPL managing director and CEO Ritesh Shukla said.

Your digital wallet is about to go global. Say hello to PayPal World. PayPal and @Venmo are partnering with some of the world's largest payment systems and digital wallets - starting with @mercadopago, @NPCI_Intl, and Tenpay Global - to make cross-border payments a breeze. Shop… pic.twitter.com/IYJ1fg8y2H

— PayPal (@PayPal) July 23, 2025

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How PayPal World will help Indian shoppers on global platforms

“This collaboration will enhance convenience for Indian users making payments abroad and enable global businesses and merchants to tap into a growing base of UPI users.”

With PayPal World, sending money or shopping internationally will be simplified for Indian users, who heavily rely on UPI for daily payments. 

An Indian shopper will now see the UPI payment option integrated with PayPal on a US-based website, allowing seamless completion of payment using the UPI app they already use in the country.

“The challenge of moving money across borders is incredibly complex, and yet this platform will make it so simple for nearly two billion consumers and businesses,” PayPal president and CEO Alex Chriss said. “We believe the changes we are announcing today have the potential to be a real game changer over time.”

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