India and Thailand are exploring a cross-border digital payment link between UPI and PromptPay, aiming to simplify transactions for millions of tourists and deepen economic and cultural bonds amid growing travel exchanges.
India and Thailand already have a busy tourism corridor, and their next step may be digital payments. Thailand’s ambassador to India, Chavanart Thangsumphant, said the two countries are strong travel partners already, pointing to Indian destination weddings in Thailand and Thai visitors heading to places such as Ladakh. She said easier movement of tourists has helped deepen ties, but a payment link between India’s Unified Payments Interface and Thailand’s PromptPay could make the relationship even more practical.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India’s annual convention in Varanasi, Thangsumphant argued that connected payment systems would be more than a convenience for travellers. She said the digital economy could speed growth and make shopping and everyday transactions smoother for people on both sides of the relationship.
The idea is not new. The Times of India reported in 2023 that the Reserve Bank of India and the Bank of Thailand were discussing integration between UPI and PromptPay, with Indian and Thai officials saying an announcement could follow soon. Thailand’s tourism authorities have also described the country as a highly cashless society, underlining why a cross-border link would fit the way many visitors already pay for goods and services.
The broader backdrop is a fast-growing tourism exchange. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said Thailand is well connected to India by direct flights from more than 15 cities, with more than 500 weekly services depending on the season. It also cited Thai tourism data showing that about 2.48 million Indians visited Thailand in 2025, up roughly 17% from a year earlier, making Indians the third-largest group of foreign arrivals and accounting for about 6% of total inbound tourism.
For now, the envoy’s remarks suggest that digital payments could become the next stage of a relationship already built on travel, trade and increasingly frequent personal exchanges. If UPI and PromptPay do eventually connect, it would likely reduce friction for tourists and strengthen ties between two economies that are already closely linked.
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