How to pay in India

India runs on QR codes, yet a lot of daily life is still paid in notes. The trick is knowing which tool to reach for.

UPI is India's instant-payment system. The everyday apps (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm) need an Indian bank account and an Indian phone number, so most visitors cannot set them up.

The official workaround is UPI One World: a prepaid wallet linked to UPI, issued to foreign visitors against a passport and a valid visa. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched it in 2023, first for travellers from G20 countries arriving at Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi airports. Wallets are issued by licensed companies (RBI named ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Pine Labs and Transcorp at launch); Transcorp's app is CheqUPI.

What NPCI's February 2026 announcement says (it extended the wallet to foreign delegates at the India AI Impact Summit as a pilot):

• Payments to merchants only (shops, cafes, services). No transfers to private persons.
• Top-up with an international debit or credit card.
• Limits in that announcement: up to ₹25,000 per top-up, no more than 2 top-ups and ₹50,000 a month. The issuer may set different limits for ordinary travellers, so check the current ones in the app.
• Leftover balance can be returned to the card it came from, under foreign exchange rules.
• Citizens of some countries are excluded under regulatory guidance; check your eligibility in the app before the trip.

Another wallet on the market is Mony. In the India GO team's experience, verification uses your passport, a second ID (for example, a home-country driving licence) and visa details, and takes about 24–48 hours after arrival in India. Top-up methods, fees and limits depend on your citizenship and payment method, so check them in the app before the trip.

Even with a wallet, keep cash. Many rickshaw drivers and street stalls show a personal QR rather than a merchant one, and visitor wallets cannot pay those.

The order below follows NPCI's own instructions. Do it after your visa is granted: the app asks for the visa.

Visa and Mastercard are accepted at hotels, malls and restaurants. Tell your bank you are travelling and check the card works abroad before you fly.

ATMs are the simplest way to turn a foreign card into rupees. A few things to know (the fees and limits below are typical figures from the India GO team's experience, not official rules; they vary by bank):

• Fees: Indian banks typically charge a foreign card about ₹150–300 per withdrawal, plus whatever your own bank charges.
• Always choose INR. If the machine or card terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, decline: that conversion (dynamic currency conversion, DCC) carries a hidden markup, in the India GO team's experience often 5–10% or more.
• Per-withdrawal limit is usually around ₹10,000; repeat the withdrawal for more.
• Declined? Try another bank's ATM. Refusals of foreign cards are common and usually random.
• Airport ATMs are reliable for your first cash.
• Small towns: ATMs can be empty or offline, so never let your cash reserve run out.

Keep the ATM slips. Under RBI rules, banks and licensed money changers may convert up to ₹50,000 back into foreign currency for a foreign tourist (not an NRI) against the original ATM slips, checked against your card, a valid passport and visa and a ticket for departure within 7 days.

Bring US dollars or euros in clean, recent notes and change them in India. Use a bank or a licensed money changer (often signed RBI Authorised or FFMC, full-fledged money changer).

Ask for an encashment certificate. It is the receipt for your exchange, and it is what lets you change unspent rupees back before you leave. If you declared currency on arrival (see below), RBI rules require you to show that declaration when you change the declared money. Cash paid out to a foreign visitor is capped at the equivalent of US$3,000 per transaction; larger sums come on a card or in several transactions.

Changing rupees back. With an encashment certificate, a bank or licensed money changer can convert unspent rupees back at departure. Without one, under RBI rules they may convert up to ₹10,000 at their discretion, if you fly out within 7 days. Exchange counters in the departure hall stand before customs or immigration, whichever comes first, so change money before you pass through; counters beyond immigration may also exist, but don't count on one being open. Details are in the [currency exchange guide](/en/guide/currency-exchange/).

Airport rates for your first cash are usually noticeably worse than in town (about 6–12% worse in the India GO team's experience). Change enough for a day or two there and the rest in the city.

Skip street money changers who are not licensed: no receipt means no way to change money back, and the rate is rarely as good as it sounds.

Rules from the RBI. Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizens, and travellers to or from those countries, have separate rules.

Service charge is voluntary. Under guidelines of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), upheld by the Delhi High Court in March 2025, a restaurant or hotel may not add a service charge to your bill automatically, collect it under another name or make you pay it. If it is on the bill, you can ask for it to be removed. Complaints go to the National Consumer Helpline, 1915.

If a service charge is on the bill and you are happy to pay it, there is no need to tip on top. If there is none, 5–10% in cash for good service is a kind gesture (a customary range, not a rule).

Rough guides from the India GO team, not rules (more in the [tipping guide](/en/guide/tipping/)):

• Porter: ₹20–50 a bag.
• Housekeeping: ₹100 a night.
• Driver for the day: ₹200–500.
• Guide: ₹200–500.
• Auto-rickshaw: no tip expected; round the fare up.