India's most successful payments system UPI will be used in France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing the Indian community in Paris today.
"India and France have agreed to use UPI in France. In the coming days, it will begin from the Eiffel Tower, which means Indian tourists will now be able to pay in rupees," PM Modi said, referring to the Unified Payments System, or UPI.
Allowing UPI in France will open up huge possibilities in the way Indians can spend. UPI will be able to do away with cumbersome forex cards and avoid the need to carry cash to spend.
PM Modi began his France visit with "fruitful" meetings with his French counterpart Elisabeth Borne and Senate President Gerard Larcher, during which he discussed ways to impart new impetus to India's multifaceted cooperation and time-tested strategic partnership with the key European nation.
India's UPI powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood. It also caters to "peer to peer" collect request, which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) conducted a pilot launch with 21 member banks in April 2016. Since then, UPI use has seen tremendous growth. Even hawkers accept UPI payment for as little as Rs 5 or 10 for a cup of tea.
In 2022, the NPCI signed an MoU with France's fast and secure online payment system, called Lyra. This year, UPI and Singapore's PayNow signed an agreement, allowing users in either country to make cross-border transactions.
The UAE, Bhutan and Nepal have already adopted the UPI system.
NPCI International is in talks to extend UPI services in the US, other European countries and West Asia.
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