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The Favara-UPI cross-border payment corridor went live between the Maldives and India on 30 July 2026, letting Maldivians send real-time payments to UPI-linked Indian bank accounts.
Two Maldivian banks — Bank of Maldives Plc and Maldives Islamic Bank Plc — are live in the initial phase, transacting through their mobile banking apps.
The corridor converts Maldivian Rufiyaa to Indian Rupees instantly; permitted uses are family-maintenance and gift remittances.
It follows a NIPL-Maldives Monetary Authority agreement signed in July 2025 and extends UPI's cross-border footprint, alongside separate acceptance linkages the currency already has in nine other countries.
Wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI mandated to internationalise UPI and RuPay
Maldives' central bank/monetary authority; operates the domestic Favara instant-payment system
| Country | Live Since | Nature of Linkage |
|---|---|---|
| Bhutan | July 2021 | First country to adopt UPI-based QR standards |
| Singapore | February 2023 | UPI-PayNow — India's first real-time cross-border payment-system linkage |
| Sri Lanka & Mauritius | February 2024 | UPI QR/app-based payment acceptance |
| France | March 2024 | UPI QR acceptance via Lyra Group |
| UAE | July 2024 | UPI linkage with UAE's domestic instant payment system |
| Qatar | October 2025 | UPI QR acceptance (Lulu Mall, Doha) |
| Cambodia | June 2026 | UPI-KHQR linkage via ACLEDA Bank |
| Maldives | 30 July 2026 | Favara-UPI — an inbound remittance corridor, not outbound QR acceptance |
GS Paper 3 > Economy > Banking, Digital Payments & Financial Inclusion
High — UPI internationalisation is a recurring current-affairs and banking-exam theme
NPCI International Payments Limited — NPCI's subsidiary (set up April 2020) tasked with taking UPI and RuPay abroad
The Maldives' own instant payment system, now interoperable with India's UPI for inbound transfers