India’s cashless payments system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), is likely to be available to people in the US by the end of this year, making transactions by NRIs and professionals working there much easier. The Bank of America (BofA) is working on a pilot project to link Zelle of the US to India’s UPI.
“Bank of America works on Zelle-UPI bridge for cross-border payments,” posted the Indian Embassy in the US on September 9. The Indian Embassy posted the screenshot of a news report of the Business Standard published on September 8.
The Business Standard reported that the UPI-Zelle project was being developed with Early Warning Services, the network operator of Zelle.
On June 11, Early Warning Services, the network operator of Zelle, announced that India would be the first country where US consumers would be able to use Zelle to make payments.
“As the world’s largest recipient of remittances, India is a natural starting point and an important corridor for the millions of American consumers who regularly send money to the country. Initial availability is expected before the end of this year [2026],” it announced.
The development is significant for Indian-Americans and Indian professionals in the US who make payments to families and friends in India. The US has become the top source country for remittances sent to India.
In 2024-25, India received $135.46 billion in remittances, of which, around $37 billion was from the US, according to reports.
Now, those people sending money to India from the US will have an easier alternative for the transactions.
“UPI is going global. Now , UPI is making it easier for Indians to pay abroad directly through their bank accounts,” the Ministry of Electronics and IT posted on September 9.
With the Zelle bridge, UPI will soon be available in the US too.
The report in the Business Standard was based on an interview the New Delhi-based business daily conducted with Daniel Stanton, global head of transactional FX, cross-border real-time payment (RTP) and clearing, global payments solutions (GPS), at Bank of America.
Stanton told Business Standard that BofA saw cross-border payments evolving towards greater speed, transparency, and integration. He said India was one of the most compelling markets in this transformation, supported by its strong digital infrastructure, growing role in global trade and BofA’s continued presence in the country.
Stanton said BofA was expanding its real-time payment capabilities across multiple markets, with India among the 10 countries covered by its recently announced cross-border RTP solution.
According to the Business Standard report, remittances are a key focus of the Zelle-UPI pilot. If the system eventually moves beyond the pilot stage, it could offer an additional way for customers to transfer money internationally without leaving the digital banking environment they already use.
As Stanton told the Business Standard, a fully fledge Zelle-UPI bridge would provide “an alternative to retail and small business customers looking to move money internationally, while retaining the embedded experience of Zelle and the security inherent in an alias-based offering.”
The pilot project has started getting attention on social media. One user on X wrote “If they do UPI to Zelle it would be f***ing awesome!!” Another user wrote “combining the two systems could make life considerably easier for NRIs sending money to India”.
UPI is operated is operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Early Warning is owned by seven of the US’s leading financial institutions, including Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, Truist, US Bank, and Wells Fargo.