ICICI Bank has introduced a groundbreaking feature enabling Non-Resident Indian (NRI) customers to utilize their international mobile numbers for instant Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in India. This initiative aims to significantly enhance the convenience of everyday payments for NRI customers, marking a significant milestone in digital banking innovation.
Through this new facility, NRI customers holding NRE/NRO accounts with ICICI Bank can seamlessly conduct payments for utility bills, merchant transactions, and e-commerce purchases using their registered international mobile numbers. This service is accessible through the bank’s mobile banking app, iMobile Pay, eliminating the need for NRIs to register an Indian mobile number to initiate UPI transactions.
ICICI Bank has leveraged the international infrastructure established by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to facilitate the usage of UPI across borders. The bank has rolled out this feature across ten countries, including the USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
NRI customers can utilize various UPI payment methods, such as scanning Indian QR codes, transferring funds to UPI IDs or Indian mobile numbers, or depositing money into Indian bank accounts.
Mr. Sidharatha Mishra, Head of Digital Channels and Partnerships at ICICI Bank, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration with NPCI to launch the UPI facility on international mobile numbers via iMobile Pay. He stated, “This launch reinforces our commitment to providing our NRI customers with innovative solutions, ensuring a safe, secure, and hassle-free payment experience. We are witnessing a positive response from our NRI customers who have started using this facility.”
The activation process for the UPI facility on international mobile numbers using iMobile Pay is straightforward:
- Log in to the iMobile Pay app.
- Navigate to ‘UPI Payments.’
- Verify the mobile number.
- Click on ‘Manage’ -> ‘My Profile.’
- Create a new UPI ID from the suggested options.
- Select the account number and submit.