PhonePe announced a partnership with LankaPay to allow its users to pay using UPI across Sri Lanka. At an event to mark the collaboration, PhonePe said its app users travelling to Sri Lanka can make payments using UPI across LankaPay QR merchants.

The transactions will be facilitated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and LankaPay National Payment Network.

Users can scan LankaQR code to make secure and quick payments without carrying cash or calculating currency conversions. The amount will be debited in INR, showing the currency exchange rate.

The fintech major added that the user accounts will be debited in Indian rupees at existing exchange rates to ease the digital payment process. LankaPay claims to have more than 4 Lakh merchant partners across the island nation.

PhonePe's CEO, International Payments, Ritesh Pai, said the collaboration with LankaPay offers unparalleled convenience to Indian tourists who can now use a familiar and secure payment method while travelling and paying across LankaQR merchant points.

"We are excited about the potential of this collaboration that would enhance payment experience to Indian tourists and business travellers during their stay in Sri Lanka and also provide the merchants with a cost-effective proposition to card payments," LankaPay CEO Channa de Silva said.

Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe mentioned about the collaboration's capacity to unlock new opportunities, enhance competitiveness and the benefits that it would bring to Sri Lankan merchants.

Speaking at the event, Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, said the UPI launch is an important part of a larger goal for both countries to collaborate through a digital partnership.

"India is also supporting Sri Lanka in the development of its Unique Digital Identity Program and other components of the Digital Stack that has immense transformative potential for Sri Lanka and the bilateral economic partnership," Jha added.

Launched in August 2016, the PhonePe digital payments app has more than 520 million registered users and a digital payments acceptance network of 38 million merchants. PhonePe processes over 230 million daily transactions.

The PhonePe Group has also expanded into financial services and consumer tech businesses.

There was also a panel discussion on 'The Future of Digital Payments in Sri Lanka: Opportunities for Sri Lankan Businesses' as part of the event.

National Savings Bank GM/CEO Shashi Kandambi, Hatton National Bank PLC COO Sanjay Wijemanne, LOLC Finance PLC Chairman Conrad Dias, and Dialog Finance Chairperson PLC Renuka Fernando discussed ways by which businesses can leverage digital payment technologies and tap into a wider market to stay competitive in an evolving economic landscape.

Key stakeholders from Sri Lanka, including representatives from the banking and tourism sectors, payment system providers and business associations, attended the event.

This collaboration comes three months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out UPI services in the island country during a virtual ceremony in February this year.

Last month, PhonePe also signed a two-year pact with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to enable UPI payments for Indian visitors in Singapore. At that time, the company said that Indian travellers to the country would be able to use the PhonePe app at 8,000+ merchants in Singapore.

The gradual expansion of UPI is part of the National payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) bid to internationalise the homegrown payments infrastructure. The payments body has so far signed pacts with multiple countries, including Nepal, France, and the UAE, to roll out UPI in their respective nations.

That said, PhonePe continues to be the biggest player in the UPI ecosystem, accounting for nearly half of the total transactions processed on the network in April 2024. Overall, UPI clocked more than 1,330 Crore transactions worth INR 19.64 Lakh Crore in April this year.

Incorporated in 2002, LankaPay is Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network. With a multitude of digital payment solutions, the entity facilitates domestic interbank payments and settlements under the guidance of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. In 2020, under the guidance of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, LankaPay launched LankaQR. Currently, there are 19 local banks and finance companies connected to the LankaQR network, with approximately 400,000 merchants across the island.

Article Source – PTI