India's UPI expands globally as Trinidad and Tobago become 8th country to adopt digital payments network

Trinidad and Tobago has officially become the eighth country worldwide and the first in the Caribbean region to adopt India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI), allowing transactions via the BHIM app. This significant development coincides with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the Caribbean nation from July 3-4, during which both countries expressed strong interest in expanding collaboration in the digital domain.

Prime Minister Modi congratulated Trinidad and Tobago on this adoption, emphasizing the advancing digital transaction capabilities. Beyond UPI, the two nations also agreed to explore further cooperation in implementing India Stack solutions, including DigiLocker, e-Sign, and the Government e-Marketplace (GeM). This move signifies a growing global recognition and acceptance of India's indigenous digital payment infrastructure.

With Trinidad and Tobago's inclusion, the list of countries implementing UPI usage now stands at eight. Other nations currently using UPI include France (which became the first European country to widely accept UPI in 2024, starting with the Eiffel Tower), the United Arab Emirates (enabled QR code-based UPI payments in 2021), Bhutan (first to adopt UPI standards for QR deployment in 2021), Nepal (introduced UPI for cross-border transactions in 2024), Mauritius (launched UPI services in 2024), Sri Lanka (introduced UPI payments in 2024), and Singapore (expanded UPI acceptance in 2023). This expansion underscores India's increasing influence in the global digital payments landscape and its commitment to fostering digital partnerships internationally.