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India is in talks to link its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with Alipay+, the global merchant network operated by Ant International, according to multiple reports in early February 2026.
The proposed integration would let Indian travellers use UPI at more than 150 million Alipay+ merchants across 100+ markets, potentially extending UPI’s international reach without country-by-country infrastructure.
Ant International, spun out of China’s Ant Group and now based in Singapore, did not comment.
India’s UPI is already the world’s largest retail fast-payment system by volume, with over 504 million users, 65 million merchants and about 20 billion transactions a month, and the government reported a record ₹230 trillion in transaction value till December 2025.
Officials say the linkage could lower transaction costs, reduce reliance on card networks and boost remittances and financial inclusion.
But the plan faces regulatory scrutiny: data localisation, cross-border data flows, ‘kill-switch’ clauses and national security concerns tied to Alipay+’s Chinese origins must be resolved.
The decision is pending reviews by India’s finance ministry, the Reserve Bank and payments authorities, and will require safeguards to satisfy geopolitical and privacy sensitivities.
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