New Delhi, India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to launch the country’s premium Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in neighbouring Sri Lanka and Mauritius on Monday (Feb 12). The ceremony is scheduled to take place at 1pm IST where the Indian leader will connect virtually with President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth.

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In a statement released on Sunday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “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.”

Rupay card to be launched in Mauritius

The ceremony will also mark the launch of RuPay card services in Mauritius.

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Watch: UPI to be launched in Sri Lanka on 12th February: Sri Lanka Foreign minister Sabry

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“The extension of RuPay card services in Mauritius will enable Mauritian banks to issue cards based on RuPay mechanism in Mauritius and facilitate usage of RuPay Card for settlements both in India and Mauritius,” the MEA said.

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Sri Lankan leaders talk to WION

Earlier, top Sri Lankan ministers talked to WION and said the move was vital to revive Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. In an interview with WION’s principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said, “I think by next 12 the UPI payment gateway will be signed. And I think both our leaders will connect online. So hopefully with that UPI will be available in Colombo. So that will boost the tourism back in Sri Lanka again.”

Also read: India: RBI hiking UPI transaction limits gets an industry thumbs up

In a separate interview, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe also talked about the usage of Indian currency in bilateral trade. “We want to see the usage of Indian rupees in Sri Lanka. Have no issue at all,” he told WION.

When asked how Indian tourists helped the Sri Lankan economy, Wickremesinghe said, “Tourism helps our economy a lot and Indian tourists coming in have been good.” The president also confirmed that UPI will be “implemented” in Sri Lanka “soon.”

About UPI

Unified Payments Interface, commonly referred to as UPI, is an Indian instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016. The interface facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. It is used on mobile devices to instantly transfer funds between two bank accounts.

(With inputs from agencies)