Archive · 5 Oct 2026
Zimbabwe in Talks to Adopt India's UPI Payments System
Zimbabwe is talking with an Indian payments company about using UPI, a system for sending money digitally.
The talks could finish by October 31, according to Zimbabwe's central bank governor.
He says the system could help banks offer cheaper services to shops.
People might also rely less on cards for small payments inside the country.
The system could help the government understand small businesses better.
Zimbabwe may later use it for sending money across borders and for remittances.
UPI is already used in India and operates in 11 other countries.
Zimbabwe is negotiating with NPCI International Payments Ltd to adopt India's UPI system.
Central bank Governor John Mushayavanhu said the talks could conclude by October 31.
Mushayavanhu said UPI could help banks serve merchants at lower cost and support new financial products.
He said account-to-account transfers could reduce reliance on cards for low-value domestic payments and improve data on small businesses.
Zimbabwe could eventually use UPI for cross-border and remittance payments.
- Who
- Zimbabwe and NPCI International Payments Ltd; Zimbabwe central bank Governor John Mushayavanhu discussed the talks.
- What
- Zimbabwe is in talks to adopt India's UPI digital payments system.
- When
- The talks could conclude by October 31; the year was not specified.
- Where
- Zimbabwe; UPI was launched in India and is operational in 11 countries.
- Why
- The governor cited potential lower-cost merchant services, new financial products, less reliance on cards for low-value payments, and better data on small businesses.
- Potential agreement timeline
- Talks could conclude by October 31; no year was specified.
- Zimbabwe official
- Central bank Governor John Mushayavanhu.
- Negotiating organization
- NPCI International Payments Ltd.
- UPI launch
- Launched by the NPCI on August 25, 2016, under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India.
- International reach
- UPI is operational in 11 countries, according to the article.
- Global payment share
- The article says UPI accounted for 49% of global real-time payment volumes in 2025.
- Potential future use
- Zimbabwe could eventually use UPI for cross-border and remittance payments.