UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NPCI International and ACLEDA Bank Launch Cross-Border UPI Payments in Cambodia via KHQR, Cambodia’s National QR Code

Q1. With which one of the following Cambodian banks did NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) partner in June 2026 to launch UPI acceptance through KHQR?

  • A. ACLEDA Bank Plc.
  • B. ABA Bank
  • C. Canadia Bank
  • D. Wing Bank

Q2. The KHQR national QR code, used for the recently launched cross-border UPI acceptance in Cambodia, operates under which one of the following payment platforms/authorities?

  • A. Bakong, operated by the National Bank of Cambodia
  • B. PromptPay, operated by the Bank of Thailand
  • C. QRIS, operated by Bank Indonesia
  • D. DuitNow, operated by Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet)

Q3. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was set up as an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India under the provisions of which one of the following Acts?

  • A. Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
  • B. Banking Regulation Act, 1949
  • C. Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
  • D. Companies Act, 2013

Q4. With reference to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), which of the following statements are correct?

  1. NPCI was incorporated in 2008 as a 'Not for Profit' company under the provisions of the Companies Act.
  2. NPCI was established as a joint initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
  3. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) was incorporated in 2020 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI.
  4. NIPL serves as the international arm of NPCI for deployment of UPI and RuPay outside India.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1, 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q5. With reference to Cambodia's Bakong payment system and the KHQR, consider the following statements:

  1. It was launched by the National Bank of Cambodia in 2020 as a retail peer-to-peer digital payment system.
  2. Its underlying infrastructure uses blockchain/distributed ledger technology.
  3. It is officially classified as a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) issued as a direct liability of the National Bank of Cambodia.
  4. KHQR is the national interoperable QR code standard that operates on the Bakong rails.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q6. In the context of Cambodia's digital payments ecosystem, the term 'KHQR' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The national interoperable QR code standard used for retail payments across banks and wallets
  • B. The central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the National Bank of Cambodia
  • C. A blockchain consensus protocol developed in-house by the National Bank of Cambodia
  • D. A bilateral rupee–riel cross-border settlement facility hosted by ACLEDA Bank

Q7. With reference to the international acceptance of BHIM-UPI QR for merchant payments by Indian travellers, consider the following countries (as of early 2026, prior to the launch in Cambodia): 1. Bhutan 2. Qatar 3. Thailand 4. Mauritius Which of the above had BHIM-UPI QR acceptance enabled through NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL)?

  1. Bhutan
  2. Qatar
  3. Thailand
  4. Mauritius
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q8. Cross-border acceptance of the BHIM-UPI QR at overseas merchant establishments, such as those in Cambodia, France and the UAE, is operationalised by which one of the following entities?

  • A. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL)
  • B. NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited
  • C. Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS)
  • D. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)

Q9. The UPI-PayNow real-time payment systems linkage, launched on 21 February 2023, was operationalised by the Reserve Bank of India jointly with which one of the following authorities?

  • A. Monetary Authority of Singapore
  • B. Bank Negara Malaysia
  • C. Bank of Thailand
  • D. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

Q10. With reference to the international expansion of BHIM-UPI by NPCI International Payments Limited, which of the following are correctly identified as countries where UPI payment acceptance has been launched (as listed by PIB)?

  1. Bhutan
  2. Qatar
  3. Indonesia
  4. Mauritius
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q11. With reference to the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), consider the following countries: 1. Cambodia 2. Vietnam 3. Indonesia 4. Myanmar Which of the above are member countries of the MGC?

  1. Cambodia
  2. Vietnam
  3. Indonesia
  4. Myanmar
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. Consider the following countries: 1. Thailand 2. Myanmar 3. Vietnam 4. China Which of the above do NOT share a land border with Cambodia?

  1. Thailand
  2. Myanmar
  3. Vietnam
  4. China
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 4 only

Q13. In the context of India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) being exported globally, the term 'India Stack' most appropriately refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A set of open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and digital public goods covering identity, payments and data exchange that enable presence-less, paperless and cashless service delivery
  • B. A sovereign-cloud computing facility operated by the National Informatics Centre that hosts core applications of all Union Ministries
  • C. A blockchain-based wholesale settlement ledger operated by the Reserve Bank of India for cross-border Central Bank Digital Currency transactions
  • D. A consolidated open-source code repository maintained by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for e-Governance applications

Q14. With reference to the global deployment of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for merchant payment acceptance, consider the following countries: 1. France 2. Mauritius 3. Indonesia 4. Bhutan Which of the above is/are NOT a country where UPI-based merchant payment acceptance has been operationalized?

  1. France
  2. Mauritius
  3. Indonesia
  4. Bhutan
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 3 only

Q15. Project Nexus, which the Reserve Bank of India has joined to enable instant cross-border retail payments by interlinking domestic Fast Payment Systems, has been conceptualised under the auspices of which one of the following institutions?

  • A. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • B. Financial Stability Board (FSB)
  • C. Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub
  • D. Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) of the G20

Q16. As of 2025, in how many foreign countries had BHIM-UPI acceptance been operationalised through NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL)?

  • A. Six
  • B. Seven
  • C. Eight
  • D. Ten
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