Pine Labs, WEBXPAY let Sri Lankan merchants accept UPI and Indian cards

Indian payments company Pine Labs and Sri Lankan payment gateway WEBXPAY have launched a partnership that lets merchants in Sri Lanka accept Indian payment methods, including UPI, Indian credit and debit cards, net banking and EMI, the companies announced on 22 October 2026. The service works through WEBXPAY's existing merchant network, so Sri Lankan businesses do not have to change their payment systems, and settlement happens the next working day. The companies describe it as the first arrangement in Sri Lanka in which one payment aggregator connects directly with another under the Reserve Bank of India's framework for cross-border payment aggregators (PA-CB).

India is one of Sri Lanka's largest sources of tourists, and many Indian visitors are used to paying for almost everything with UPI on their phones. Abroad, they often have to carry cash or use international cards with currency conversion charges. For a Sri Lankan hotel, shop or online seller, accepting the payment methods Indian customers already use can mean more sales and fewer abandoned purchases.

For Pine Labs, the deal is a market-entry play. Rather than building its own network of merchants in each country, it plugs into a local payment aggregator that already serves those businesses. That model, if it works in Sri Lanka, can be repeated in other countries popular with Indian travellers and shoppers, which is what Pine Labs says it plans to do in South-East Asia.

The arrangement also fits India's wider push to take UPI abroad. Over the past few years, UPI has been linked with payment systems in several countries, mostly through deals between central banks and national payment bodies. This partnership is a private, commercial route that relies on an RBI framework for cross-border payment aggregators, which sets rules for Indian firms handling payments that cross borders.

For Indian start-ups and fintech companies, the deal shows one way to grow abroad: following Indian customers to the places they travel and shop, and partnering with local firms rather than competing with them directly.

Some limits remain. The companies have not disclosed what merchants will pay in fees or how currency conversion will be priced for customers, two details that will decide how attractive the service is in practice.

Short-term: Indian visitors in Sri Lanka can pay more WEBXPAY merchants using UPI and Indian cards. Merchants can offer familiar options without changing their systems.

Long-term: If adoption grows, the model could spread to other countries and make paying abroad as easy for Indians as paying at home, while giving Pine Labs a foothold in new markets.

Who is affected: Indian tourists and online shoppers, Sri Lankan merchants in tourism and retail, payment companies in both countries, and the wider Indian fintech sector.

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