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Razorpay’s Curlec, India’s NPCI to enable UPI payments in Malaysia

• ByStartupStory     |    October 30, 2025

Razorpay, through its Malaysian entity Curlec, has partnered with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), to enable UPI (Unified Payments Interface) payments in Malaysia. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in expanding India’s digital payment ecosystem beyond its borders.

Under this new arrangement, Indian travelers visiting Malaysia will soon be able to make instant payments to Malaysian merchants using their preferred UPI-enabled apps, just as they do within India. This move will allow payments from India to be settled in the local Malaysian currency, ringgit (RM), providing both convenience and cost-efficiency for travelers and businesses alike. Malaysian merchants across sectors including retail, travel, hospitality, and small enterprises will be able to accept payments seamlessly via the Razorpay Curlec platform.

In 2024, more than one million Indian tourists visited Malaysia, spending over Rs 110 billion—a significant 71.7% increase over the previous year. The rising number of Indian visitors underscores the need for reliable, quick, and cashless payment solutions that eliminate the complexities of currency exchange and the reliance on cash or international debit/credit cards.

UPI has revolutionized payments in India, processing nearly 20 billion transactions in September 2025 alone, showcasing its massive scale and efficiency as a payment system. By enabling UPI payments in Malaysia through this partnership, Razorpay Curlec and NIPL are creating a truly borderless fintech ecosystem across Asia that benefits consumers and merchants by delivering speed, trust, and simplicity.

Razorpay’s Co-founder and Managing Director, Shashank Kumar, emphasized, “UPI has totally changed the way India pays, showing what’s possible when innovation and inclusion come together at scale. Now, with Curlec, we’re bringing that same energy to Malaysia—helping businesses and travelers enjoy the speed, trust, and simplicity that make India’s digital payments so powerful. This isn’t just about payments; it’s about creating a truly borderless fintech future across Asia.”

This integration into Malaysia is part of a larger strategy by NPCI International Payments to expand UPI and RuPay acceptance worldwide. UPI is already operational in several countries, including Bhutan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Nepal and recently launched in Qatar. Agreements are also in place to bring UPI to countries such as Namibia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Peru.

Beyond payments, Razorpay Curlec currently provides Malaysian businesses with solutions for recurring payments, card payments, payouts, subscription management, and billing. This new UPI acceptance initiative will further enrich the digital payment infrastructure, supporting a widening ecosystem of cross-border digital commerce.

This partnership stands as a testament to the growing interconnectedness of Asian fintech markets and the increasing demand for seamless payment experiences for the region’s expanding traveler and business segments. It represents a step forward in India’s ambition to drive its digital payment innovations onto the global stage while providing practical benefits to consumers and merchants in multiple countries.

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