Prime Minister Modi launched India’s RuPay card services for Sri Lanka and Mauritius at a virtual ceremony today. The launch of the UPI in these nations will enable Indian nationals to settle payments through UPI in these nations. It will also allow Mauritian nationals to settle payments through UPI in India.
Speaking in Hindi at the ceremony, the PM said that the UPI would not only help the two nations but would unite new partners with India. “Today is a special day for the three friendly countries of the Indian Ocean Region as we are linking our historic ties with modern digital technology,” he said. “I believe that Sri Lanka and Mauritius will benefit from the UPI system.”
According to recent data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform had crossed the 100 billion-mark in 2023, totaling around 118 billion transactions throughout the year. The total value of UPI transactions in 2023 stood at approximately ₹182 lakh crore, a 44% increase compared to ₹126 lakh crore in 2022. The prime minister said that these were worth Rs 2 lakh crores or 8 trillion Sri Lankan rupees or 1 trillion Mauritius rupees.
The acceptance by Sri Lanka and Mauritius follows the recent acceptance by France of the UPI. An official announcement by the Indian Embassy in France on Republic Day stated that Indian nationals could book visits online to the Eiffel Tower using UPI. This was done at a Republic Day reception at the Eiffel Tower.
“After Singapore, pleasure to be associated with its (UPI’s) launch in Paris. We will now work to rapidly expand acceptance across various sites, locations, merchants and services in France, tweeted Indian Ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf. France embraced the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as payment from February 2.
Prime Minister Modi had drawn Paris’s attention to the UPI system of payments during President Macron’s two-day visit to India. During the visit, the prime minister bought tea for his French counterpart using the UPI system of payment.
At a press conference, Macron made aspecial mention of the UPI during his visit. “I will not forget the chai that we shared at the palace because it was a chai paid for by UPI. This is a perfect synthesis of friendship, tradition, and innovation,” the French president said. “This is exactly what we do together and what we want to do together.”
