- Boku has completed its first cross-border UPI transactions
- Boku becomes one of a select few Payment Service Providers (PSPs) with a cross-border payment aggregator licence (PA-CB), offering international UPI acceptance
- Boku’s global merchants can now accept payments from Indian consumers using one of the world’s largest account-to-account payment schemes
London, 17 June 2026 – Boku, the local payments partner for global commerce, has completed its first cross-border transactions through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s leading account-to-account payment scheme.
Following the successful pilot transactions, Boku’s global merchants are now able to accept payments via UPI from Indian consumers. The milestone allows Boku to facilitate the transaction end-to-end, from consumer payment through to cross-border merchant settlement, all via its own PA-CB authorised infrastructure.
For international merchants, access to UPI has often depended upon a local aggregator, either directly or through their PSP, adding another commercial and operational layer between the merchant and the payment rail. It can also mean slower issue resolution, less consistent visibility into settlement, refunds and disputes, and dependence on the aggregator’s own product roadmap. By operating through its own licensed UPI infrastructure – a rare position for international PSPs – Boku gives merchants a simpler, more direct and scalable route into UPI cross-border payments.
UPI has become the default digital payment method for hundreds of millions of Indian consumers. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI enables instant mobile payments directly from bank accounts. In May 2026, it processed a record 23.2 billion transactions worth ₹29.9 trillion (US$315 billion), demonstrating its scale and importance within India’s digital payments ecosystem.
The milestone follows Boku’s broader strategy of building direct access to the local payment methods consumers prefer, supported by the licensing, banking and operational infrastructure required to make those methods work reliably for global merchants. Through one integration to Boku, merchants can connect to local payment rails across their key growth markets, helping them reach more consumers while reducing the complexity of cross-border payments.
Stuart Neal, CEO of Boku, said: “UPI is a global benchmark for instant payments and part of everyday life for Indian consumers. By enabling cross-border UPI acceptance, this major milestone allows Indian consumers to use their favourite payment method with international merchants, while giving merchants seamless access to this increasingly important market.
“We’ve already proven we can deliver this same trusted payment experience in other major markets, such as Pix in Brazil, and we will continue exploring opportunities to provide this end-to-end access to merchants in additional markets.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About Boku Inc.
Boku is the local payments partner for global commerce. Through a single integration, merchants can access over seven billion customer accounts across more than 60 countries, through payment methods including digital wallets, account-to-account schemes, buy-now-pay-later, and direct carrier billing. Boku pairs that network with cross-border money movement, embedded bundling, and the licensing and operational infrastructure to help merchants acquire and retain customers in markets where they have no local presence.
Boku's platform serves leading global merchants including Spotify, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, and Tencent. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in London, Boku is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (BOKU).
For more information, visit www.boku.com
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