PayPal International to integrate with India's UPI for cross-border payments

The move was announced by PayPal on Wednesday.

PayPal has unveiled a series of global partnerships that will connect many of the world’s largest payment systems and digital wallets on a single platform, starting with interoperability with PayPal and Venmo.

Together, the launch partners represent nearly two billion users globally, PayPal said in a statement.

"Today’s announcement outlines the vision for PayPal World and how it will transform the way people send money, shop online, in-store, and with AI agents across borders," the statement said.

Leveraging open commerce APIs, PayPal World solves the complexity of cross border commerce with a cloud native, multi-region deployment architecture that ensures low latency and high availability worldwide. The platform is designed with robust safety and security capabilities, creating a device and technology-agnostic environment for all partners.

PayPal World is ready for the future of commerce. Digital payment systems and wallets will play an essential role in enabling agentic shopping, where consumers can shop and pay in conversation with AI agents using their digital wallet.

"In addition, the platform will be compatible with the latest technologies and commerce experiences including, over time, dynamic payment buttons and stablecoin," read the statement.

The first payment systems and digital wallets that will launch with PayPal World are (in alphabetical order):

Mercado Pago (MOU signed – further details being scoped)

NPCI International Payments Limited (UPI)

PayPal

Tenpay Global

Venmo

“PayPal World is a first-of-its-kind payments ecosystem that will bring together many of the world’s largest payment systems and digital wallets on a single platform. It is testament to the passion our partners share for an inclusive, global digital economy and has the potential to revolutionize cross-border commerce,” said Alex Chriss, President and CEO of PayPal. “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. We believe the changes we are announcing today have the potential to be a real game changer over time. We can’t wait to welcome many more global partners, wallets, and their users soon.”

“We’re thrilled about this tremendous opportunity. This partnership brings together our collective strengths to streamline cross-border commerce, building on the success each of us has achieved in our respective markets,” said Osvaldo Gimenez, CEO of Mercado Pago.

To scale the development of this innovative platform, PayPal and Mercado Pago are collaborating to explore opportunities in cross-border payments through PayPal World.

Speaking on the development, Ritesh Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI International Payments Limited, said, “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. 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.”

“We are glad that Tenpay Global, Tencent’s cross-border payment platform, will support users of PayPal and Venmo in making payments by scanning Weixin Pay1 QR codes, further expanding access for global digital wallets to transact in the mainland of China. In addition to payments, Tenpay Global will deepen its collaboration with PayPal World in remittances,” said Wenhui Yang, CEO of Tenpay Global.