UPI Launches in Sri Lanka and Mauritius: Convenient Payment for Indian Tourists
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) service in Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Indian citizens in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, as well as travelers from India to Mauritius, will be able to use it. Recently, UPI services were also launched in France.
During the launch event, PM Modi said, “India’s UPI is now taking on a new responsibility – to unite partners with India.” The video conferencing event was attended by Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, along with the central bank governors of all three countries.
Modi also launched the RuPay card service in Mauritius. Now, Mauritian banks will issue RuPay cards based on the country’s identity. With this, people from both countries can avail of services through these cards in their respective countries and at each other’s locations.
On February 2nd, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was officially launched at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, by the Indian embassy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed great joy about this initiative, stating that it marks a significant step towards globalizing UPI. He emphasized that this move will encourage digital payments worldwide.
After meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, the launch is set to happen.
The launch follows French President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Macron arrived in Jaipur on January 25. During this time, Prime Minister Modi briefed him about the digital payment system UPI, explaining how payments are processed. Other leaders also attended the meeting. The decision was later finalized by President Macron.
UPI was launched in 2016.
It was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to facilitate easy fund transfers directly between bank accounts. Unlike traditional digital wallets, UPI does not require KYC verification.
UPI is operated by NPCI in India.
While systems like RTGS and NEFT are managed by the Reserve Bank of India, NPCI oversees IMPS, RuPay, and UPI. From January 1, 2020, UPI transactions have been mandated to be free of charge.
In December 2023, the volume of UPI transactions exceeded 1200 crores. During a meeting with the foreign ministers of Uganda and Nigeria, S. Jaishankar revealed that India is witnessing cashless transactions of such magnitude within just a month, which the United States takes three years to achieve. In December 2023 alone, UPI transactions amounted to over ₹18.23 lakh crores.
NPCI announced these figures, stating that in November, transactions worth ₹17.40 lakh crores were processed. This indicates a growing preference for this payment mode among the public.
