The RBI has announced the launch of UPI payment connectivity between India and Cambodia, allowing Indian travellers to make QR code-based payments at more than 4.5 million KHQR-enabled merchants across Cambodia.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the connectivity of payment systems between India and Cambodia for the acceptance of UPI at QR-code-enabled merchants in Cambodia was launched on June 02, 2026, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.This marks the go-live of the first phase of collaboration between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Acleda Bank Plc., under the aegis of the RBI and the National Bank of Cambodia, to enable interoperability of QR-code-based Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions between the two countries.“With this connectivity, Indian travellers visiting Cambodia can now make QR code-based payments to over 4.5 million merchants enabled with KHQR (national QR standard of Cambodia) using their UPI applications.“This will enable real time physical merchant payments in Cambodia by Indian travellers in a transparent and secure manner. This will reduce dependency on cash and also act as an alternative to payments using cards,” RBI said in a statement.The facility to enable Cambodian travellers to make UPI QR-enabled merchant payments in India shall be undertaken subsequently in the second phase, it added.In its latest annual report, RBI noted that efforts are underway to further expand UPI’s international footprint by linking UPI with the fast payment systems of other countries to enable cross-border remittances and merchant payments.Besides Cambodia, UPI acceptance for QR-code-based merchants is operational in Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the UAE.Published on June 4, 2026
