Indian Tourists May Soon Use Local Payment Apps In Malaysia

Samuel Chua

5th March 2026 - 3 min read

Indian travellers visiting Malaysia may soon be able to pay local merchants using the same mobile payment apps they use at home.

The change comes through a partnership between Razorpay’s Malaysian entity Curlec and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the organisation responsible for expanding India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) internationally. The collaboration was formalised during Global Fintech Fest 2025 and aims to enable Malaysian businesses to accept payments from Indian visitors through UPI-enabled apps.

Payments Could Be Made Directly Through Mobile Apps

Once implemented, Indian travellers will be able to pay Malaysian merchants using their existing UPI mobile payment apps.

For visitors, this means many everyday purchases could be made without relying on cash or international credit cards. Payments would be completed directly through mobile apps already linked to their bank accounts in India.

Malaysian merchants accepting payments through the Curlec platform would receive the transactions in ringgit without requiring separate international card integrations.

Travel Between India And Malaysia Is Growing

The initiative comes as travel between India and Malaysia continues to increase. In 2024, more than one million Indian tourists visited Malaysia, contributing over RM11 billion in tourism spending. The figure represented a 71.7% increase compared with the previous year, reflecting India’s growing importance as a source of international visitors.

Connecting Malaysian Merchants To India’s UPI Network

UPI is India’s real-time payment infrastructure that allows users to transfer money instantly between bank accounts through mobile applications. The system has grown rapidly in recent years and processed around 20 billion transactions in September 2025.

By connecting Malaysian merchants to this network, the partnership would allow businesses to accept payments from Indian travellers who already rely on UPI for everyday transactions in India.

What This Means For Malaysian Businesses

For Malaysian businesses that frequently serve international visitors, accepting payments through Indian mobile apps could make transactions easier for travellers who prefer to pay digitally.

It may also reduce the need for visitors to exchange cash or rely on international cards that can carry foreign transaction fees.

However, adoption will depend on how widely merchants integrate the payment option into their existing systems. Malaysia already supports several QR-based payment networks, including DuitNow QR and cross-border QR linkages with neighbouring countries.

In this context, acceptance of Indian mobile payment apps would likely function as an additional payment option for certain traveller groups rather than replacing existing domestic payment infrastructure.

Expanding Cross-Border Digital Payments

NPCI International Payments Limited said the partnership forms part of its efforts to extend India’s payment infrastructure into international markets.

Allowing Indian travellers to use their local payment apps in Malaysia could simplify cross-border spending while enabling Malaysian merchants to accept payments from users of India’s UPI network.

Samuel Chua

Samuel writes about personal finance and financial news, focusing on how banking updates, policies, and promotions affect everyday money decisions. He enjoys making complicated financial topics easier to follow. Outside of writing, he spends his time watching TV shows and occasionally convincing himself he will only watch one episode.

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