India Stalls Alipay+ And UPI Integration Over Data Security Concerns

3 Sept 2026, 6:10 pm · 9d ago · 1 min read · Inc42

The Indian government has stalled a proposed cross-border payments linkage between Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Alipay+ over national security and data storage concerns. Submitted by Alipay+ in January, the proposal intended to enable Indian travellers to make UPI payments across 150 million merchant locations in China, Hong Kong, and across Asia. The Ministry of External Affairs cited political grounds, while domestic law enforcement agencies flagged potential money-laundering risks, cybersecurity threats, and data protection vulnerabilities. Cross-border bilateral payment programs with China-linked entities continue to face rigorous regulatory scrutiny from Indian authorities and the Reserve Bank of India.