UPI, Rupay cards brace for European entry; NPCI to launch digital payment services in France soon

In a major boost to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Rupay cards, the Union Communication minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced that UPI and Rupay card services will be available in France soon.

As per the ANI news agency, the National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) international arm has signed a memorandum of understanding MoU with Lyra Network of France for acceptance of UPI and Rupay in the country.

"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," Vaishnaw said.

Countries like Singapore, UAE, Bhutan, and Nepal have adopted India's UPI payment system so far. The NPCI international is in talks to extend the UPI services in the US, European countries, and West Asia.

With the MoU between NPCI International and Lyra Network, Indian tourists will be able to make seamless payments during their travel to France.

Indian diplomat in France Jawed Ashraf recounted an experience with the seamless and transparent mode of digital payment and how effective it could be in France.

The Ambassador said that once he went to a doctor but didn't have the cash or cheque to pay. "The doctor asked him to pay in cash or by cheque. He has to visit an ATM to withdraw the cash and pay the doctor. If UPI comes to France, then it will benefit the people of France. If we share the benefits of UPI with the people of France, then they will accept it," he said.

Meanwhile, Europe's biggest start-up conference - Vivatech 2020 has recognized India as the "country of the year."

"This is a great honour for India to be recognized as the country of the year for Vivatech 2020. This is due to the contribution of the Indian start-ups to the world. This is the recognition of Indian start-ups. We have embarked on this exciting journey," said Vaishnaw.

While inaugurating the India pavilion at the technology exhibition Vivatech, Vaishnaw said that the combination of billions of smartphones and billions of bank accounts with billion-plus digital identities in enabling the creation of unique use cases for technology development in India.

"Today, if you look at many of the government programs, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, many of the government programs are today born digital. The UPI is a very classic example. The next example which is going to come which can be as big as UPI or maybe even bigger is going to be the health mission," Vaishnaw said.

He said that many start-ups have already started connecting with the National Health Mission.

Around 65 start-ups from India are participating in Vivatech 2022 with government support.