For many Indians, paying by scanning a UPI QR code has become an everyday habit. But that convenience does not necessarily travel with you everywhere overseas.
That became clear after an Indian traveller reported an unsuccessful UPI payment attempt at Singapore’s Changi Airport, prompting a wider discussion about the practical realities of using Indian digital payment systems abroad.
UPI Payment Fails at Changi Airport
Nikhil George recently shared his experience on X after attempting to pay for a purchase at The Cocoa Trees at Changi Airport using Google Pay.
According to George, the cashier had warned him that UPI rarely worked at the outlet. He nevertheless scanned the QR code and attempted the payment. The transaction failed, with the app displaying a message saying it could not obtain the required conversion rate.
George later shared a video of the attempted transaction, using the incident to point out that although UPI has expanded internationally, the experience may not always be as straightforward as it is in India.
His experience also came with a practical takeaway for travellers: carrying a card or another payment option can be useful when travelling overseas.
Travellers Report Different Experiences
The incident quickly led to a discussion online, with users sharing different experiences of making UPI payments outside India.
Some travellers said they had successfully used UPI in countries including Singapore and Sri Lanka. Others pointed out that the success of an international UPI transaction can depend on the merchant’s payment terminal and how the payment system is configured.
Singapore’s Mustafa Centre was also mentioned in the discussion, with some users saying they had successfully used UPI there. One traveller claimed to use the service regularly, while another noted that the experience can vary between individual payment terminals.
PhonePe also came up in the conversation, with some users saying they had experienced better results with it for international transactions.
The varied responses underline an important point for Indian travellers: UPI availability overseas does not necessarily mean that every merchant or QR terminal will accept every UPI payment successfully.
What About Currency Conversion?
The discussion also moved beyond whether a transaction works to the cost of making one.
While UPI itself does not necessarily add a separate platform fee to an international payment, the bank handling the transaction may apply foreign-exchange-related charges or a currency conversion markup.
That means the amount ultimately debited from an Indian account may differ from a simple currency conversion calculated using the prevailing exchange rate.
For example, if a Singapore purchase converts to ₹10,000 and a bank applies a 2% foreign-exchange markup, the additional cost would be around ₹200, before any applicable transaction or processing fee.
The exact charges, however, depend on the bank, account and payment arrangement involved.
NPCI International Responds
The incident also caught the attention of NPCI International Payments Limited, which responded to George’s post and asked him to share additional details privately so the issue could be investigated.
The response highlights that individual failed transactions do not necessarily indicate that UPI is unavailable across an entire country or destination.
Instead, international UPI payments can depend on the merchant, acquiring network, QR infrastructure, participating bank or payment application, and currency-conversion setup.
What Indian Travellers Should Know
UPI’s international expansion has made it possible for Indian travellers to use a familiar payment method in a growing number of overseas markets. However, the Singapore incident shows why travellers should not assume that a UPI QR code will work everywhere.
Before travelling, it is sensible to check whether UPI is supported at the destination and by the merchants you are likely to visit. Keeping an international card or another accepted payment method as a backup can also help avoid problems when a digital payment fails.
For now, the experience of Indian travellers remains mixed: while some report smooth international UPI transactions, others encounter technical or currency-conversion issues. The convenience Indians are accustomed to at home may therefore still depend on the payment infrastructure available at each overseas destination.
