UPI Works in Sri Lanka Now: Save 20% on Every Ride

Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka can now pay for PickMe rides using UPI and get a 20% discount on each trip. No cash, no currency exchange hassle — just scan and pay like you do back home.

Here's what happened: PickMe, Sri Lanka's leading ride-hailing app, has enabled UPI as a payment method for Indian travellers visiting the country.. Indian tourists get a 20% discount on rides paid via UPI, capped at LKR 750 per trip — roughly ₹200 at current rates.. This expansion is driven by NPCI International, which has been rolling out UPI acceptance across South and Southeast Asian countries since 2022..

What you should do: Check with your bank before travelling whether your UPI ID is enabled for NPCI International cross-border payments — not all banks activate this by default.. Download or update the PickMe app before your Sri Lanka trip and link your Indian UPI ID to avoid fumbling with local currency on arrival.. Compare this against your forex card's transaction fees — if your card charges 2–3% on international spends, UPI with a 20% discount is the clear winner for rides..

NPCI International cross-border UPI works differently from domestic UPI — if your bank hasn't enabled it, your regular UPI payment will simply fail abroad. Call your bank's helpline and ask specifically for 'international UPI activation' before you fly.

For readers weighing their credit and loan options, our personal loan guide and CIBIL score resources put this update in context.