New Delhi: France could soon become Europe’s first country to subscribe to India’s digital payment technology Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The announcement could be made during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to France. India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the company behind UPI, and France’s Lyra have been working on the project for over a year now.
Earlier this year, UPI and Singapore’s PayNow signed an agreement that allowed users from both nations to make cross-border transactions, Wion reported.
Last year, Union Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that India’s UPI and Rupay will be available in France soon. He made this announcement when an agreement was inked between UPI and France’s Lyra. “The whole world is watching that India is doing 5.5 billion UPI transactions in a month. This is a big achievement for India. Today’s MoU with France is a big step towards the world,” the minister had said.
If the deal is executed as planned, the linkage will be launched by PM Modi from an iconic location in Paris during his visit.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is currently in discussions to export the UPI system to several Gulf countries, including the UAE and Bahrain. This development is expected to greatly benefit Indian workers residing and working in those countries, as they frequently send money to their family members back in India.
Moreover, the NPCI has already granted permission to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from various countries such as Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK to utilise UPI with their international phone numbers while staying in India.
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