UPI Goes Global: PM Modi, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth will witness the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius today.
New Delhi: India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services are going global these days as the latest services will be rolled out in Sri Lanka and Mauritius at a virtual ceremony on Monday that will be witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top leadership of the two island nations. India’s RuPay card services will also be launched in Mauritius at the event
Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth and Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe will join PM Modi at the virtual ceremony, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth will witness the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, and also RuPay card services in Mauritius on February 12 at 1 PM via video conferencing,” it said.
Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI is an instant real-time payment system to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones. RuPay is a global card payment network from India, with wide acceptance at shops, ATMs, and online.
The launch of the Indian services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius is taking place amid New Delhi’s increasing bilateral economic ties with the two countries.
“India has emerged as a leader in Fintech innovation and Digital Public Infrastructure. The prime minister has placed a strong emphasis on sharing our development experiences and innovation with partner countries,” the MEA said in a statement.
It should be noted that India has emerged as a leader in fintech innovation and digital public infrastructure. PM Modi has placed a strong emphasis on sharing our development experiences and innovation with partner countries.
Given India’s robust cultural and people-to-people linkages with Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the launch will benefit a wide cross-section of people through a faster and seamless digital transaction experience and enhance digital connectivity between the countries, the MEA release also said.
The launch will enable the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius, as well as, for Mauritian nationals travelling to India.
The extension of RuPay card services in Mauritius will enable Mauritian banks to issue cards based on the RuPay mechanism in Mauritius and facilitate the usage of RuPay cards for settlements both in India and Mauritius, it added.
PhonePe is India’s largest UPI app by market size. The app raised USD 350 million in funding as part of its USD 1 billion fundraising ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).
The UPI payment system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace. It is India’s mobile-based fast payment system, which facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly using a virtual payment address (VPA) created by the customer.