Coinbase Vouches Lawful Working in India as Its UPI-Buy Feature Faces NPCI Disapproval

Allowing UPI-based crypto buying essentially opens investment avenues in high-risk asset class for millions of Indians.

By Radhika Parashar | Updated: 8 April 2022 12:27 IST

Coinbase Vouches Lawful Working in India as Its UPI-Buy Feature Faces NPCI Disapproval

Photo Credit: Coinbase

Coinbase has said its experimenting with UPI payments for crypto buying in India to make process easy

Highlights

NPCI says it’s unaware about any crypto exchange using UPI
Coinbase says it’s working with payment partners in India for UPI
Coinbase has not disclosed names of its payment partners as yet

Coinbase found itself in a tight spot after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) refused to recognise its UPI-linked crypto-buying offering announced on April 8. In a clarification, the US-headquartered crypto exchange has said that it is experimenting with different payment methods and partners in India, in order to bring in more ways for Indians to purchase cryptocurrencies. While the NPCI has said that it's not aware of any crypto exchange using the UPI, Coinbase said it's committed to adhere by India's rules and regulations.

“We are aware of the recent statement published by NPCI regarding the use of UPI by cryptocurrency exchanges. We are committed to working with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure we are aligned with local expectations and industry norms,” a Coinbase spokesperson told Gadgets 360.

Overseen by the NPCI, Unified Payments Interface or UPI is a heavily used online payments mode used in India. Over 300 million Indians reportedly use UPI to instantly transfer money from one account to another via apps such as BharatPe and Google Pay.

Statement by NPCI as on 7th April 2022. With reference to some recent media reports around the purchase of Cryptocurrencies using UPI, National Payments Corporation of India would like to clarify that we are not aware of any crypto exchange using UPI. Please see attached document pic.twitter.com/lGTcaSLKeC
— NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) April 7, 2022

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took the stage in Bengaluru on April 7 to announce that Indians will be able to buy crypto assets on its platform via the UPI method.

Coinbase has said that its working with unnamed 'payment partners' in India to facilitate UPI-based crypto buying
Photo Credit: Coinbase

The move essentially opens investment avenues in this high-risk asset class for millions of people.

The crypto exchange has said that its experimenting with the feature as it could provide a rapid and simple way of making payments for crypto buyers.

“We are working with trusted payment partners to enable the above payment method. The banks have been receptive but we are unable to disclose the names at this stage,” people familiar with the matter told Gadgets 360 on the condition of anonymity.

While the UPI-backed crypto buying feature is still under a ‘Waitlist' tab on the Coinbase app, its announcement stirred quite the buzz among crypto enthusiasts in India.

Big!! Coinbase just announced that Indian users can now buy crypto in India using UPI. pic.twitter.com/zKUc2rBikV
— Prateek will be @ETHAmsterdam (@prateek_jain321) April 7, 2022

Integration of UPI with Coinbase is cool! @CoinbaseIndia https://t.co/9eTO2LjSSv
— Suraj Kohli :flag-in: (@imSurajKohli) April 7, 2022

Coinbase just announced UPI on-ramp for India users. No other crypto app in India had UPI support until now, true alpha move.

Let's get the next billion to web3 https://t.co/Ss2G0DIPOj
— b—m (@0x_beam) April 7, 2022

NPCI's reaction to the news however, did seemingly dampen the public excitement a bit.

Today Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in an event in Bengaluru said that Indian customers can buy crypto using UPI.

Given RBI's stance on crypto, the position taken by NPCI doesn't come as a surprise at all. Informal crackdown continues. https://t.co/KGGd0zzpbo
— Ashwin Manikandan (@AshwinM_) April 7, 2022

While further development on the situation remain awaited, Coinbase is set to host an in-person pitch fest in Bengaluru for ‘cryptopreneurs' today, April 8.

The investment arm of Coinbase crypto exchange is offering funding of up to $1 million (roughly Rs. 7.5 crore) to Indian crypto and Web 3 firms.

Why are they still making more Harry Potter? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Crypto Payments, Coinbase, NPCI, National Payments Corporation of India, UPI, India

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More