NPCI's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) expands international acceptance to 11 countries

Exam-focused facts from the 19 October 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
UPI was launched on August 25, 2016.
The platform is currently accepted in 11 countries, with Greece and the Maldives being the latest adopters.
As of 2025, UPI accounts for nearly 49 per cent of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted UPI's international reach while addressing the Global Fintech Fest 2026.