On February 12, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, is set to witness the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, as well as RuPay card services in Mauritius. This historic event will take place at 1 PM via video conferencing.
Given the robust cultural and people-to-people ties between India, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius, this launch is expected to make a seamless digital transaction passage, thereby boosting digital connectivity between the countries.
The introduction of UPI settlement services will facilitate Indian nationals traveling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius, as well as Mauritian nationals traveling to India, to conduct digital transactions with ease. Furthermore, the extension of RuPay card services in Mauritius will empower Mauritian banks to issue cards based on the RuPay mechanism, thereby enabling the utilization of RuPay cards for settlements both in India and Mauritius.
In a statement released, thePrime Minister’s Office said, “India has emerged as a leader in Fintech innovation and Digital Public Infrastructure. Prime Minister 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.”
Recently, France became the first European country to accept UPI. Following the launch, now the Indian tourists can book their visit and purchase their ticket to the Eiffel Tower using UPI. The official announcement for the same was made in Paris at an event organised by the Indian Embassy in France to commemorate India’s Republic Day Celebrations.
