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The original press release:

https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/FS_Pr...rid=55263&fn=9

Quote:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 08, 2023, a facility to enable all in-bound travellers visiting India to make local payments using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) while they are in India. This facility is made available from today.

To start with, it is available to travelers from G-20 countries, at select international airports (Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi). Eligible travellers would be issued Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) wallets linked to UPI for making payments at merchant outlets. Delegates from G20 countries can also avail this facility at various meeting venues. To begin with, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank and two non-bank PPI issuers, Pine Labs Private Limited and Transcorp International Limited will issue UPI linked wallets.

Travellers visiting India can now experience the convenience of UPI payments at over five crore merchant outlets across India, that accept QR Code-based UPI payments.

(Yogesh Dayal)
Chief General Manager

Press Release: 2022-2023/1765
Extending UPI for Inbound Travellers to India

Quote:

Originally Posted by oliver2002 (Post 34826454)

Gpay with foreign CCs in India works spotty at best. The moment your phone notices that you are in India the Gpay app changes from the EU/US version to the Indian version.

I am on iOS. The gPay app has remained the US version. I do have a US mobile # and no indian #. Attempting to add my indian accounts to this GPay app lands on the US plaid site that ends up only finding US banks.
I tried uninstalling and installing GPay. But the Apple App store is tied by location to the US. Changing location in iOS settings threatens to wipe all US purchases etc. Not worth the effort of reconfiguring my phone once back in the US.

Waiting for the prepaid wallet linked to UPI to be enabled and rolled out. Better than status quo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandicoot (Post 34915807)

Perhaps of interest to those here who have non-resident Indian bank accounts, it looks like UPI payment methods will soon be available to you even if your bank accounts are linked to non-Indian mobile numbers. Whether this means the annoyances with different versions of Google Pay inside and outside India or being able to use PayTM without being an Indian resident, I am not entirely sure.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/96911584.cms

That’s very interesting. I have non-resident Indian bank accounts and manage well with an Indian debit card (and cash) on my visits. However last month (mid-Feb), we were at the end of a long day in a hired taxi in a remote part of south India. The cabbie had said he accepted electronic payments, but I didn’t realize what that meant — a UPI based app. It seems US based Google Pay works for payments to “friends and family” in India and Singapore, and uses the Wise (formerly Transferwise) wire transfer service. We were low on cash, and no one had an Indian UPI set up on their phones. I also didn’t have my US checking account linked to GPay — just a few credit cards. In order to use GPay, I had to have his phone number saved in my phone as a contact, and also have his “UPI ID” handy. It took a while to get this across (I don’t speak any South Indian language) … eventually he just gave me his phone and I saw a UPI ID underneath the QR Code, if I recall correctly. Using his phone number and this ID, I was able to use the Wise service to transfer money to him. I took about 30 minutes to go through … and we assured him that if he didn’t get the money, he could come back to our hotel and wake us up and we’d go find an ATM!

Just one thing — because I had paid using my Chase credit card, in addition to the (very low) Wise fee, I was hit with a Cash Advance transaction fee (5% of the total amount) and a cash advance interest charge at a 29% APR that started accruing the day of the transaction. I didn’t realize this until I just saw my statement. Ugh.

So, it seems one can use foreign (US) GPay in India. It’s a bit tedious, and absolutely one should have one’s checking account linked to GPay, unless one wants to have a cash advance charge on a credit card.

On my next visit, I’ll either set up PayTM (I have an Indian mobile number). Or just stick to cash!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandicoot (Post 35044917)

It appears that it may be possible in the near future for G-20 travelers to India arriving at BOM, BLR, and DEL to get some sort of a prepaid debit card or mobile wallet loaded with INR to use for UPI transactions in India.

https://www.thehindu.com/business/rb...le66537286.ece

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article...om-g20-nations

How convenient this is may well depend on how easy it is to get this set up at the airport, and how easy it is to get a refund of unspent INR on the way out.

Very interested to hear back on any (success) stories on this...