India – FinDeskAsia

Illustration of a Sri Lankan shop accepting an Indian UPI QR payment

October 25, 2026 FinDeskAsia

Sri Lanka: Pine Labs and WEBXPAY Let Merchants Accept UPI and Indian Cards

Sri Lankan merchants on WEBXPAY’s network can now accept UPI, Indian cards and net banking from over 100 Indian banks through a tie-up with India’s Pine Labs, aimed at the 530,000-plus Indian visitors who came in 2025. Southeast Asia is next.

Illustration of a phone showing a UPI QR code with a 0.4% fee and rupee banknotes, for a story on India’s delayed UPI merchant fee

National Infrastructure

October 21, 2026 FinDeskAsia

India’s UPI Fee Delay Buys Time, but Merchants Are Already Nudging Shoppers to Cash

India has delayed a 0.4% merchant fee on UPI payments above ₹2,000 until after Diwali. But 83% of merchants say they won’t absorb it, and the central bank already sees a ‘cash paradox’ as notes grow alongside digital payments.