Asia’s QR payment race heats up with UPI, weixin, paytm moves

In a pioneering move to enhance the travel experience for Indian tourists, NEOPAY and NPCI launched UPI acceptance for online bookings at the Burj Khalifa’s 'At the Top' attraction in the UAE in July 2026. This integration, the first of its kind for a UAE attraction, enables Indian visitors to seamlessly purchase tickets and experiences directly on the official website using UPI, thereby strengthening financial connectivity between India and the UAE and expanding UPI’s international footprint beyond physical retail.

Building on cross-border payment innovations, the integration of India’s UPI with the Maldives’ Favara instant payment system in August 2026 marked a significant milestone in real-time cross-border transactions. Initially enabling customers of Bank of Maldives Plc and Maldives Islamic Bank Plc to send person-to-person transfers in Maldivian Rufiyaa to UPI-enabled Indian accounts—converted into Indian Rupees—this collaboration, rooted in a 2025 agreement between NPCI International Payments Limited and the Maldives Monetary Authority, exemplifies rapid onboarding and testing cycles designed to deepen economic and digital financial ties.

Looking ahead, the UPI-Favara partnership aims to broaden its scope beyond person-to-person transfers by introducing QR-based merchant payments, signaling a strategic push to deepen digital financial connectivity between India and the Maldives. This phased expansion reflects a broader vision to facilitate seamless cross-border commerce, leveraging UPI’s robust infrastructure to support diverse payment use cases and strengthen bilateral economic engagement.

By mid-2026, Vietnam significantly expanded its cross-border QR payment network through the integration of Weixin Pay, granting over one billion Chinese users instant payment access at Vietnamese merchants. This move, facilitated by a partnership between NAPAS, BIDV, and Weixin Pay, positioned Weixin Pay as the third major Chinese platform linked to Vietnam’s system alongside UnionPay International and Alipay, showcasing Vietnam’s commitment to creating a seamless digital payment ecosystem for international travelers.

Vietnam’s VietQRGlobal solution exemplifies regional collaboration by enabling international travelers from countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Singapore to pay nationwide using their home banking apps or e-wallets, leveraging the robust infrastructure of NAPAS and BIDV. This interconnected framework not only modernizes Vietnam’s digital payment landscape but also fosters greater tourism and economic exchanges across Asia, reflecting a strategic push to integrate diverse payment systems for enhanced convenience.

The integration of Weixin Pay into Vietnam’s payment network is a deliberate strategy endorsed by the State Bank of Vietnam to boost tourism, support local businesses, and facilitate seamless economic and tourism exchanges with China. Looking ahead, plans to enable Vietnamese travelers to use domestic QR payments within China signal a deepening bilateral cooperation that will further enhance cross-border payment interoperability, underscoring a shared vision for a more connected and digitally empowered regional economy.

In a significant leap for cross-border financial inclusion, Paytm has enabled NRIs from Gulf countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman to use UPI payments without requiring an Indian SIM card by linking their international mobile numbers to their NRE or NRO bank accounts. This innovation simplifies digital transactions for the diaspora, allowing them to make instant payments upon arrival in India, especially during peak festive seasons like Onam. To ensure seamless usage, users must pre-register by linking their international numbers and bank accounts ahead of travel, enabling hassle-free access to UPI services immediately upon landing.

In August 2026, Bank of Baroda pioneered a major leap in global payment interoperability by launching UPI Global Reverse Acceptance, a service that empowers international tourists from countries such as Singapore, UAE, USA, and France to make seamless QR code payments at Bank of Baroda merchants across India using their native payment apps. This innovation not only simplifies the payment experience for foreign visitors but also broadens the merchant base's access to a diverse international clientele, reflecting a strategic push towards a more interconnected digital payments ecosystem.

This initiative aligns closely with the broader vision of NPCI International to foster a globally interoperable digital payments framework. As Shri Sanjay Mudaliar, Executive Director of Bank of Baroda, emphasized, the launch of UPI Global Reverse Acceptance not only strengthens the bank’s merchant acquiring capabilities but also underscores its commitment to innovation and leadership in building a seamless, cross-border digital payments environment that benefits both merchants and international consumers.