How to use UPI without an Indian bank account or phone number (2026)

Most guides assume you have an Indian bank account linked to an Indian phone number. Visitors don’t — and can’t easily get either. The good news: you don’t need them to pay with UPI.

A prepaid UPI wallet is issued under RBI’s prepaid payment instrument rules, signs you up on your passport and visa, and is funded by your own international card. ZikPe is built exactly for this.

Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm link UPI to an Indian bank account verified against an Indian mobile numberthat’s registered with that bank. No account or no Indian SIM means the setup fails at the linking step.

A prepaid UPI wallet replaces both requirements: your identity comes from your passport and visa, and your money comes from your card — so your home phone number and home bank are all you need.

1. Download ZikPe and sign up with your passport and visa — on your existing phone number, no Indian SIM.
2. Top up with your international Visa or Mastercard. The app shows the rupee amount, fees included, before you confirm.
3. Scan any UPI QR and pay. Tickets, food, autos, shops and stays — the same QR codes locals use.
4. Leaving India? Request a refund of what’s left to your original card, as permitted under RBI rules.

• No Indian bank account and no Indian phone number — passport-and-visa sign-up.
• Pays any UPI QR, including the street vendors and autos that refuse cards.
• Transparent rates shown before you top up.
• Refundable balance when you leave.
• RBI-regulated, with funds held in escrow.

ZikPe is the UPI wallet for foreign tourists and NRIs that needs no Indian bank account or number. See ZikPe for tourists and NRIs, or check whether foreigners can use UPI in India and the best payment apps for foreigners in India.