Sri Lankan Merchants Can Now Accept More Indian Payment Methods

The partnership directly addresses the payment expectations of Indian tourists by integrating India's diverse digital payment stack into Sri Lankan commerce. Indian consumers, accustomed to advanced payment options like UPI, can now use these familiar methods when visiting Sri Lanka. This move is particularly relevant as India is projected to be Sri Lanka's largest source of tourists, with over 530,000 visitors anticipated in 2025.

By enabling options such as UPI, major Indian card issuers, net banking from over 100 banks, and credit facilities like UPI AutoPay and Credit on UPI, the initiative aims to offer a seamless transaction experience. Tanya Naik of Pine Labs stated that the company seeks to make India's sophisticated payment experience portable, with Sri Lanka serving as the initial activation under the PA-CB framework.

For Sri Lankan businesses, the arrangement provides access to a significant consumer market, as noted by Thilak Piyadigama of WEBXPAY. Merchants can also offer EMI conversions, allowing customers to pay for purchases in installments, and benefit from T+1 settlement, which means funds are processed quickly. This integration is described as Sri Lanka’s first cross-border arrangement of its kind between two payment aggregators.