The Ministry of External Affairs announced today that Mauritius and Sri Lanka can now access the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at the virtual event inaugurating the Rupay card services and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Earlier this month, Lyra and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) announced the introduction of UPI in France.
Which countries accept UPI payments?
Following the announcement, the Indian government's public engagement website, MyGovIndia, released a world map showing the nations in which citizens can use UPI to make payments. According to the government, the nations that accept UPI payments are France, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal.
On February 2, 2024, France approved the implementation of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) inside its borders. The implementation of the UPL payment framework in France was jointly announced by NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Lyra, a reputable French company that specializes in protecting proximity payments and e-commerce.
Remarkably, Bhutan was the first nation to approve BHIM app-based UPI transactions. On July 13, 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Namgay Tshering virtually inaugurated the UPI digital payment app.
Notably, India has taken the initiative to increase UPI's global reach. As of July 4, 2022, talks with 30 nations have already begun regarding UPI integration, demonstrating India's dedication to promoting global collaboration in the field of digital payments.
According to a report from the previous year, Japan could work together on the digital identification system and join India's UPI payment system. Liquid Group, a well-known provider of cross-border digital payment services, and NIPL signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in September 2021. A UPI-based QR code payment system was intended to be implemented beginning in 2022 in several countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
What are UPI Payments?
UPI is an instantaneous real-time payment system designed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to make interbank mobile transactions easier. It combines various banking functions, smooth fund routing, and merchant payments under one roof by combining numerous bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any partner bank).