Indian travellers can now pay at over 4.5 million Cambodian merchants via QR code, with a two-way corridor planned
NPCI International Payments Limited has partnered with Cambodia’s ACLEDA Bank to launch UPI acceptance in Cambodia, marking the payment system’s ninth international deployment.
The first phase, formalised at a ceremony in Phnom Penh attended by National Bank of Cambodia Governor Dr. Chea Serey and senior RBI representatives, allows Indian travellers to make QR payments at more than 4.5 million Cambodian merchants using Cambodia’s national QR code standard, KHQR, which operates through the Bakong payment infrastructure.
The second phase will make the corridor fully bidirectional. Cambodian citizens visiting India will be able to use their domestic banking and payment apps to scan UPI QR codes across India, creating a reciprocal interoperable network between the two countries.
The practical impact is straightforward: travellers avoid currency exchange costs and cash handling, while Cambodian merchants gain access to Indian visitors through a payment method already deeply embedded in everyday Indian life.
UPI is now accepted in Singapore, the UAE, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. India has been steadily expanding the network as part of a broader push to internationalise its domestic payments infrastructure and reduce friction in cross-border commerce.