{
  "id": 6297197,
  "title": "‘We prefer cash’: UPI everywhere, foreigners and NRIs ‘face payment issues’ in Gujarat",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/we-prefer-cash-upi-everywhere-foreigners-and-nris-face-payment-issues",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-08T16:30:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/upi-for-foreign-tourists-india-payment-challenges-10869024/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "UPI, or Unified Payment Interface, is the primary digital payment system in India. During the Under 18 Men’s FIBA basketball tournament in Ahmedabad in August, foreign tourists and NRIs faced payment issues due to limited UPI acceptance. With most places accepting contactless payments, visitors like Thailand's Fiona Faustmann Thibault Spitakhis had to carry cash for small payments. Credit cards did not work in ATMs, and money exchanges were scarce. Foreign tourists and NRIs like Anya Bajaj from Switzerland and Meghan Farley from the United States preferred using cards or contactless payments whenever possible, but encountered difficulties with small purchases. Kevin Der-Antonion from Los Angeles preferred cash payments in India. Deepika Gupta, a Zurich-based Indian with roots in Punjab, faced challenges with small-time vendors and healthcare payments, finding UPI/GPay/Paytm more convenient but difficult to set up due to the requirement of an Indian mobile number and Aadhaar. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) operates UPI One World, allowing foreigners to make online payments, but the newspaper did not find many visitors had set it up.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "UPI dominates Indian digital payments",
    "Foreign tourists, NRIs face payment issues in Gujarat",
    "Cash preferred for small purchases and transactions"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}