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NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has announced a partnership with ACLEDA Bank Plc. the first publicly listed commercial bank in Cambodia.
NPCI, in a release, said that Acleda Bank has been nominated as the operator for Cambodia's national QR network, Bakong (KHQR), by the National Bank of Cambodia and will work with NIPL to enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance across Cambodia and KHQR acceptance across India. The partnership will offer Indian & Cambodian travellers the convenience of making QR codebased payments seamlessly across tourist attractions, restaurants, retail outlets and other establishments. Indian tourists in Cambodia will be able to use their UPI enabled apps to make merchant payments easily at more than 4.5 million KHQR merchant touch points. Similarly, Cambodian tourists in India will be able to scan more than 709 million UPI QRs to make merchant payments conveniently using their Cambodian payment apps. The collaboration will support businesses in both countries by offering a secure, interoperable, and frictionless payment experience via UPI and KHQR, significantly enhancing convenience for consumers in both markets. Ritesh Shukla, MD & CEO, NPCI International, said, "Our partnership with ACLEDA Bank Plc. marks an important step in strengthening interoperable digital payment corridors between India and Cambodia. By enabling UPI and KHQR acceptance across both countries, we aim to make travel simpler and empower consumers with trusted and familiar payment options. Thispartnership reflects our commitment to expanding secure, inclusive, and scalable digital payments on a global scale." Dr In Channy, President & Group Managing Director of ACLEDA Bank, said, "We are excited to sign this Service Agreement with NPCI International Payments Limited. The Service Agreement formalizes the technical and operational framework for interconnecting NPCI's UPI (Unified Payments Interface) network with ACLEDA Bank's KHQR ecosystem. This network-to-network setup will ensure secure, interoperable payments, allowing Indian consumers and businesses to use their mobile devices to scan QR codes from Cambodian merchants for payment. In addition, according to the release, this collaboration represents an important step toward regional payment interoperability, aligning with ASEAN's vision of advancing inclusive digital economies and fostering financial innovation in digital payments, empowering our customers with fast, affordable, and secure cross-border options that boost trade and tourism for both nations". NPCI International in recent past have done several partnerships to showcase the ability of its infrastructure. These include collaborations with BENEFIT in Bahrain for cross-border payments, PayPal to integrate UPI into its global network, and Razorpay Curlec to enable UPI in Malaysia. Other recent partnerships are with NTT for UPI acceptance in Japan and Magnati for expanded UPI acceptance in the UAE. (ANI)
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