3rd February 2024 (8 Topics)
PM congratulates France for formal launch of UPI
Context
India is internationalising UPI with France being latest country to adopt it for payments.
Background
- UPI is an instant payment system that allows users to transfer money between bank accounts using a single mobile app. It was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016 and is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- As of November 2022, the platform had over 300 million monthly active users in India. The proportion of UPI transactions in total volume of digital transactions grew from 23% in 2018–19 to 55% in 2020–21 with an average value of ?1,849 per transaction. It enabled over 2,348 transactions every second in 2022. In Aug 2023, UPI crossed 10 billion transactions with a value of ?15.7 lakh crore. In FY 2023, the value of annual transactions reached $1.7 trillion, out of which $380 billion is in merchant payments.
Partnership, merchant adoption and benefits for Indian tourists
- The launch of UPI in France was facilitated by a partnership between NPCI International Payments (NIPL), a subsidiary of NPCI, and Lyra, a French e-commerce and proximity payments company.
- Indian tourists visiting the Eiffel Tower can now purchase entry tickets online using UPI by scanning a QR code generated on the merchant’s website and initiating a payment. Eiffel Tower is the first merchant to offer UPI payments in France, and the service will soon be extended to other merchants in the tourism and retail space across France and Europe.
Significance for India-France relations
The launch of UPI in France is a significant step towards taking UPI global, as envisioned by Prime Minister Modi. It is also a testament to the strong bilateral relations between India and France, which have been enhanced by the recent visit of French President Emmanuel Macron as the chief guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on January 26.
Global vision for UPI
- UPI is a transformative force in the global payment landscape making payments instantaneous and low cost.
- It has potential for offering a simple, secure, and interoperable solution for cross-border transactions.
- UPI is now being pitched as a standard for global public infrastructure in payments as outlined during recent G20 summit.
Conclusion
UPI is a shining example of India’s innovation and leadership in the digital payment space. It has the potential to transform the global payment landscape by offering a simple, secure, and interoperable solution for cross-border transactions. UPI is not just a payment system, but a symbol of India’s digital empowerment and global integration.
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