India Aadhaar-based payment gateway was successfully deployed in 50 countries through NPCI International on Monday, enabling the Indian diaspora to make instant digital payments using Aadhaar biometric authentication linked to their Indian bank accounts. The system, which works in partnership with local banking partners and regulators in each country, allows NRIs and international merchants to complete transactions in under three seconds without requiring separate account registration in the host country.
Finance Minister Sitharaman called the deployment a transformative moment for the global Indian community, noting that India payment infrastructure is now among the most widely deployed in the world. The system is currently active across the UAE, Singapore, the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, and 44 other countries. NPCI International CEO Ritesh Shukla said 15 more countries are in the pipeline for 2026 integration. The deployment is expected to significantly reduce remittance costs for the 32 million-strong Indian diaspora by eliminating the 4-6% fee typically charged by traditional wire transfer services.