NPCI says it’s not aware of exchanges offering UPI as an option to buy crypto, but some already do

On Thursday, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) released a statement saying it was not aware of any crypto exchange operating in India allowing users to use its Unified Payments Interface or UPI to purchase crypto- currencies.

“Referring to some recent media reports regarding the purchase of cryptocurrencies using UPI, the National Payments Corporation of India would like to clarify that we are not aware of any crypto exchange using UPI,” says the press release.

Read also : Coinbase announces large-scale crypto trading in India

But Business Today discovered that at least four crypto exchanges operating in India – Unocoin, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch Kuber and Coinbase – allow their users to buy cryptocurrencies through UPI, while WazirX recently discontinued the functionality.

“Currently, few payment processors already provide UPI access and it continues to work. We offer our users the ability to purchase using deposits made through UPI,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, Founder and CEO of the exchange. from Unocoin crypto to Business Today. .

Mridul Gupta, COO of cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX, told BT that “CoinDCX has strong UPI-based payment capabilities already developed for its users.” This has also been independently verified by BT.

At an event held in Bengaluru on Thursday, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced that its trading platform will be available to retail traders in India and its customers will be able to buy crypto through the exchange using UPI.

Read also : Coinbase to Hire Dedicated M&A and Investment Team in India

Recently, some crypto investors took to Twitter to discuss their experience buying cryptocurrency through UPI on the Coinbase platform.

Another user shared a screenshot of all the ways to buy crypto on the platform, one of which is UPI.

CoinSwitch Kuber also had the UPI option available on its app, as verified by BT. But when the team tried to add money to the CoinSwitch Kuber wallet through UPI, the feature failed.

Comments from various other crypto exchanges operating in India have also been sought to confirm the same. A request has also been sent to the NPCI asking if they are unaware that at least four exchanges operating in India allow UPI payments for cryptocurrencies. The story will be updated if and when they respond.