Boku has completed its first cross-border Unified Payments Interface transactions, enabling global merchants to accept payments from Indian consumers.
The milestone enables Boku's global merchant partners to accept payments from Indian consumers using one of the world's largest A2A payment schemes.
The achievement allows Boku to facilitate the entire transaction flow, from consumer payment through to cross-border merchant settlement, using its own PA-CB authorised infrastructure. International merchants previously relied on access through a local aggregator, either directly or via their existing Payment Service Provider, creating additional commercial and operational layers between the merchant and the payment rail. This approach often resulted in slower issue resolution, inconsistent visibility into settlement and refunds, and dependence on the aggregator's own product roadmap.
Direct infrastructure for cross-border UPI access
Through the process of operating through its own licensed UPI infrastructure, a rare position for international Payment Service Providers, Boku offers merchants a simpler, more direct, and scalable route into UPI cross-border payments. The company's proprietary model significantly reduces the complexity that typically comes with accessing local payment methods across multiple markets.
At the same time, UPI has established itself as the default digital payment method for hundreds of millions of Indian consumers. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India, the scheme enables instant mobile payments directly from bank accounts. In May 2026, UPI processed 23.2 billion transactions worth approximately USD 315 billion, demonstrating its substantial scale within India's digital payments ecosystem.
Broader strategy for local payment method access
According to the official press release, the initiative reflects 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 reliable for global merchants. Through a single integration with Boku, merchants can connect to local payment rails across their key growth markets, helping them reach more consumers while reducing cross-border payment complexity.
Stuart Neal, Chief Executive Officer of Boku, noted that UPI represents a global benchmark for instant payments and has become part of everyday life for Indian consumers. According to Neal, enabling cross-border UPI acceptance represents a milestone that allows Indian consumers to use their preferred payment method with international merchants whilst giving merchants seamless access to this increasingly important market. In addition, the company has already demonstrated comparable capabilities with other major payment schemes, including Pix in Brazil, and intends to explore opportunities to provide similar end-to-end access in additional markets.
