<p>If there is one Indian innovation that has grabbed global headlines, it is undoubtedly the UPI or Unified Payments Interface payments system.</p>

<p>UPI's place of pride in India's growth story could be easily gauged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at the recently-concluded BRICS meeting: "UPI is used at all levels from street vendors to large shopping malls. Today, among all countries in the world, India is the country with the highest digital transaction."</p>

<p>PM Modi also pitched for UPI's expansion into the BRICS grouping, which now has six new member states. "There is scope for working with BRICS on the (UPI) technology," media reports quoted him as&nbsp;saying.</p>

<p>But while experts will keenly watch its expansion into the BRICS bloc, UPI has already begun its march towards global dominance.</p>

<p><strong>Countries join India's UPI bandwagon</strong></p>

<p>In the past few weeks, three countries have joined the UPI bandwagon quickly - France, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka. These three countries will now accept transactions via India's homegrown digital payments technology.</p>

<p>UPI's entry into France is significant, helping the technology get a foothold in Europe for the first time. Regarding Sri Lanka and the UAE, UPI's entry is set to deepen India's economic ties with the two nations.</p>

<p>"Indian travellers will be at ease of using foreign exchange, especially in France. UPI's growing global footprint will boost bilateral trade as well as tourism," says Haresh Calcuttawala, Co-Founder of TreZix, a B2B SaaS platform.</p>

<p>Calcuttawala adds that UPI's framework will smooth cross-border transactions and ensure swift and secure settlements between global trading partners. "UPI empowers businesses to focus on building strong relationships and expanding their global reach."</p>

<p>It is important to give some business perspective on the reasons for UPI's expansion into the three countries.</p>

<p>France has always been among the top European destinations for Indian tourists. Moreover, the country is a&nbsp;major trade destination for India's medium and small businesses, which are likely to benefit from the introduction of UPI.</p>

<p>On the other hand, India is Sri Lanka's biggest trade partner, with the bilateral trade standing at over $5.5 billion. Meanwhile, the India-UAE trade partnership is going strong, especially with the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement coming into effect last year.</p>

<p><strong>UPI: India's fintech pride</strong></p>

<p>UPI's growing global footprint is also a sign of greater opportunities for the Indian fintech sector, which attracted funding worth $4.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to be a $2 trillion industry by 2030.</p>

<p>"This global expansion presents significant growth opportunities for the Indian fintech ecosystem to innovate and establish new business use cases that can play a crucial role in driving its adoption," says Anand Agrawal, Co-Founder &amp; CPTO of fintech startup Credgenics.</p>

<p>UPI, launched by the National Payments Corporation of India in 2016, has been the torchbearer of India's fintech story. From just one million transactions in October 2016, UPI has now crossed&nbsp;the landmark of 10&nbsp; billion transactions. This number seems even more significant considering that UPI accounted for 75 per cent of the retail transaction volume in 2022-23.</p>

<p>The greatest change that UPI has brought about is in the way Indians transact. According to GlobalData research, cash transactions have declined from 90 per cent of the total volume in 2017 to less than 60 per cent in 2021. UPI and other digital transaction systems have occupied the remaining space. Though cash is still the king in India, UPI has effectively created a niche for itself.</p>

<p>"India was a cash economy. But UPI became an efficient and easy payment alternative due to wide smartphone adoption, government initiatives for bank accounts, and cheap data," says 'finfluencer' Anushka Rathod.</p>

<p>It is no wonder that the quick and efficient nature of UPI payments resulted in cost savings of $12.6 billion and added $16.4 billion to the Indian economy in 2021, as per a study conducted by Cebr Economic Research.</p>

<p><strong>How the UPI story blossomed</strong></p>

<p>The 2016 demonetisation drive was a game-changer for India's digital payments landscape. Less than six months after Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were phased out, the total transaction volume on UPI rose from 2.9 million to 72 million. By the end of 2017, UPI transactions had grown by 900 per cent compared to the previous year. It is also worth noting that 2016-17 saw the launch of cheap data packs -- India has the third cheapest internet and undoubtedly helped proliferate UPI payments beyond India's Tier I cities.</p>

<p>But there is another red-letter day for UPI, which brought international recognition to digital payment technology. That day was November 7, 2019, on the eve of the third anniversary of the demonetisation drive. On that day, tech giant Google wrote a letter to the US Federal Reserve in support of a faster digital payment settlement service.</p>

<p>To bolster its point, Google narrated the success story of UPI in India. Attributing UPI's success to its "thoughtful planning", the letter added that "critical aspects" of the design led to its growth in the world's biggest country. The letter noted how UPI's growth encouraged Google to enter the payment system through Google Pay while highlighting the success of collaboration between the government, technology and financial services.</p>

<p><strong>UPI: The future and challenges</strong></p>

<p>The UPI's future growth looks promising. UPI, comprising 75 per cent of India's digital transactions, is expected to grow four-fold by 2026. A PwC report states that UPI may constitute almost 90% of total transactional volume in retail digital payments over the next five years as it expands to rural areas and tier III and IV cities.</p>

<p>UPI's global expansion, too, holds a lot of promise. Sample this: Indians spent $10 billion on overseas travel between April and December 2022. Considering the substantial scale of international spending, the internationalisation of UPI can contribute significantly to the growth of the Indian economy.</p>

<p>With UPI going global, the payments platform will likely face tough competition from Visa, Mastercard and other long-established global payments giants. Visa and Mastercard occupy about 80 per cent of the global payments market space, and dislodging them will be a tall order.</p>

<p>"These payment platforms and networks have been around for a while and are cash-rich, so they will not make it easy for UPI to grow and eat away their market share and profits," argues Rathod.</p>

<p>Moreover, UPI will have to adjust its technology to cater to the wider customer base in the Western world. Initially, the cost of transfer and remittance fees will be high due to UPI's low rate of penetration.</p>

<p>Compliance with various digital regulations and the need for interoperability between various payment systems will be major challenges for UPI.</p>

<p>"To overcome these challenges, UPI stakeholders can concentrate on collaborating with global payment system providers and regulators to ensure compliance with local regulations and standards," opines Agarwal. &nbsp;</p>


If there is one Indian innovation that has grabbed global headlines, it is undoubtedly the UPI or Unified Payments Interface payments system. UPI's place of pride in India's growth story could be easily gauged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at the recently-concluded BRICS meeting: "UPI is used at all levels from street vendors to large shopping malls.

If there is one Indian innovation that has grabbed global headlines, it is undoubtedly the UPI or Unified Payments Interface payments system. UPI's place of pride in India's growth story could be easily gauged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at the recently-concluded BRICS meeting: "UPI is used at all levels from street vendors to large shopping malls. Today, among all countries in the world, India is the country with the highest digital transaction." PM Modi also pitched for UPI's expansion into the BRICS grouping, which now has six new member states. "There is scope for working with BRICS on the (UPI) technology," media reports quoted him as saying. But while experts will keenly watch its expansion into the BRICS bloc, UPI has already begun its march towards global dominance. Countries join India's UPI bandwagon In the past few weeks, three countries have joined the UPI bandwagon quickly - France, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka. These three countries will now accept transactions via India's homegrown digital payments technology. UPI's entry into France is significant, helping the technology get a foothold in Europe for the first time. Regarding Sri Lanka and the UAE, UPI's entry is set to deepen India's economic ties with the two nations. "Indian travellers will be at ease of using foreign exchange, especially in France. UPI's growing global footprint will boost bilateral trade as well as tourism," says Haresh Calcuttawala, Co-Founder of TreZix, a B2B SaaS platform. Calcuttawala adds that UPI's framework will smooth cross-border transactions and ensure swift and secure settlements between global trading partners. "UPI empowers businesses to focus on building strong relationships and expanding their global reach." It is important to give some business perspective on the reasons for UPI's expansion into the three countries. France has always been among the top European destinations for Indian tourists. Moreover, the country is a major trade destination for India's medium and small businesses, which are likely to benefit from the introduction of UPI. On the other hand, India is Sri Lanka's biggest trade partner, with the bilateral trade standing at over $5.5 billion. Meanwhile, the India-UAE trade partnership is going strong, especially with the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement coming into effect last year. UPI: India's fintech pride UPI's growing global footprint is also a sign of greater opportunities for the Indian fintech sector, which attracted funding worth $4.8 billion in 2022 and is expected to be a $2 trillion industry by 2030. "This global expansion presents significant growth opportunities for the Indian fintech ecosystem to innovate and establish new business use cases that can play a crucial role in driving its adoption," says Anand Agrawal, Co-Founder & CPTO of fintech startup Credgenics. UPI, launched by the National Payments Corporation of India in 2016, has been the torchbearer of India's fintech story. From just one million transactions in October 2016, UPI has now crossed the landmark of 10 billion transactions. This number seems even more significant considering that UPI accounted for 75 per cent of the retail transaction volume in 2022-23. The greatest change that UPI has brought about is in the way Indians transact. According to GlobalData research, cash transactions have declined from 90 per cent of the total volume in 2017 to less than 60 per cent in 2021. UPI and other digital transaction systems have occupied the remaining space. Though cash is still the king in India, UPI has effectively created a niche for itself. "India was a cash economy. But UPI became an efficient and easy payment alternative due to wide smartphone adoption, government initiatives for bank accounts, and cheap data," says 'finfluencer' Anushka Rathod. It is no wonder that the quick and efficient nature of UPI payments resulted in cost savings of $12.6 billion and added $16.4 billion to the Indian economy in 2021, as per a study conducted by Cebr Economic Research. How the UPI story blossomed The 2016 demonetisation drive was a game-changer for India's digital payments landscape. Less than six months after Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were phased out, the total transaction volume on UPI rose from 2.9 million to 72 million. By the end of 2017, UPI transactions had grown by 900 per cent compared to the previous year. It is also worth noting that 2016-17 saw the launch of cheap data packs -- India has the third cheapest internet and undoubtedly helped proliferate UPI payments beyond India's Tier I cities. But there is another red-letter day for UPI, which brought international recognition to digital payment technology. That day was November 7, 2019, on the eve of the third anniversary of the demonetisation drive. On that day, tech giant Google wrote a letter to the US Federal Reserve in support of a faster digital payment settlement service. To bolster its point, Google narrated the success story of UPI in India. Attributing UPI's success to its "thoughtful planning", the letter added that "critical aspects" of the design led to its growth in the world's biggest country. The letter noted how UPI's growth encouraged Google to enter the payment system through Google Pay while highlighting the success of collaboration between the government, technology and financial services. UPI: The future and challenges The UPI's future growth looks promising. UPI, comprising 75 per cent of India's digital transactions, is expected to grow four-fold by 2026. A PwC report states that UPI may constitute almost 90% of total transactional volume in retail digital payments over the next five years as it expands to rural areas and tier III and IV cities. UPI's global expansion, too, holds a lot of promise. Sample this: Indians spent $10 billion on overseas travel between April and December 2022. Considering the substantial scale of international spending, the internationalisation of UPI can contribute significantly to the growth of the Indian economy. With UPI going global, the payments platform will likely face tough competition from Visa, Mastercard and other long-established global payments giants. Visa and Mastercard occupy about 80 per cent of the global payments market space, and dislodging them will be a tall order. "These payment platforms and networks have been around for a while and are cash-rich, so they will not make it easy for UPI to grow and eat away their market share and profits," argues Rathod. Moreover, UPI will have to adjust its technology to cater to the wider customer base in the Western world. Initially, the cost of transfer and remittance fees will be high due to UPI's low rate of penetration. Compliance with various digital regulations and the need for interoperability between various payment systems will be major challenges for UPI. "To overcome these challenges, UPI stakeholders can concentrate on collaborating with global payment system providers and regulators to ensure compliance with local regulations and standards," opines Agarwal.

UPI goes global: The past, present & future of India's payments platform

<p>Unified Payment Interface (UPI) will be launched in France by September 2023, with the iconic Eiffel Tower being the first merchant in the country to accept UPI payments, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The payment mechanism is in its last phase of production and will go live by September, 2023 with the iconic Eiffel Tower, Paris as the first merchant in France to accept UPI," it read.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In line with the commitment to foster a thriving digital ecosystem and promote collaboration between India and France, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and France's Lyra Collect recently signed an agreement to implement UPI in France and Europe. This move is aimed to empower citizens and ensure their active participation in the digital age, MEA said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pm-modi-meets-prominent-individuals-in-paris-hold-discussions-on-yoga-science-skill-development-and-more-615736">PM Modi meets prominent individuals in Paris; hold discussions on yoga, science, skill development, and more</a></p>

<p>During the MEA briefing, Foreign Secretary Kwatra highlighted several significant outcomes of Prime Minister Modi's visit to France and said that the visit was unprecedentedly "successful".</p>

<h2><strong>Schengen Visas for Indian alumni in France</strong></h2>

<p>These include the formulation of a roadmap for India-France cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and the introduction of five-year validity short-stay Schengen Visas for Indian nationals holding degrees from French educational institutions (masters and above).</p>

<p>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/modi-in-france-india-flags-cross-border-terrorism-repeats-call-for-dialogue-to-end-ukraine-war-615740">Modi in France: India flags cross-border terrorism, repeats call for dialogue to end Ukraine war</a></p>

<p>"In order to create a community of Indian Alumni, France will issue five-year validity Schengen visas for Indians who have studied in France for at least one semester, provided that they reached Master degree level at a university recognised by the French university system and have a fully acceptable file compliant with Schengen requirements," the statement said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Kwatra noted that it is uncommon for a PM to personally welcome another PM, highlighting the exceptional warmth and friendship displayed between the leaders when France PM welcomed prime minister Modi at the airport.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Watch | Ukraine continues to demand more weapons and NATO membership</strong></p>

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<p>"The visuals of PM Modi's visit clearly pointed to exceptional warmth of friendship and genuineness...The extent of time that President Macron continues to spend with the Prime Minister in the last 36 hours is actually exceptional. Reflects a sense of comfort with each other, genuine friendship, mutual trust, which in a way is also reflective of the state of India, France friendship...," the foreign secretary said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Prime Minister Modi was also bestowed with France's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, in recognition of his contributions and achievements, Kwatra said.&nbsp;</p>

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Unified Payment Interface (UPI) will be launched in France by September 2023, with the iconic Eiffel Tower being the first merchant in the country to accept UPI payments, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) will be launched in France by September 2023, with the iconic Eiffel Tower being the first merchant in the country to accept UPI payments, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday. "The payment mechanism is in its last phase of production and will go live by September, 2023 with the iconic Eiffel Tower, Paris as the first merchant in France to accept UPI," it read. In line with the commitment to foster a thriving digital ecosystem and promote collaboration between India and France, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and France's Lyra Collect recently signed an agreement to implement UPI in France and Europe. This move is aimed to empower citizens and ensure their active participation in the digital age, MEA said. Also Read | PM Modi meets prominent individuals in Paris; hold discussions on yoga, science, skill development, and more During the MEA briefing, Foreign Secretary Kwatra highlighted several significant outcomes of Prime Minister Modi's visit to France and said that the visit was unprecedentedly "successful". Schengen Visas for Indian alumni in France These include the formulation of a roadmap for India-France cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and the introduction of five-year validity short-stay Schengen Visas for Indian nationals holding degrees from French educational institutions (masters and above). Also Read | Modi in France: India flags cross-border terrorism, repeats call for dialogue to end Ukraine war "In order to create a community of Indian Alumni, France will issue five-year validity Schengen visas for Indians who have studied in France for at least one semester, provided that they reached Master degree level at a university recognised by the French university system and have a fully acceptable file compliant with Schengen requirements," the statement said. Kwatra noted that it is uncommon for a PM to personally welcome another PM, highlighting the exceptional warmth and friendship displayed between the leaders when France PM welcomed prime minister Modi at the airport. Watch | Ukraine continues to demand more weapons and NATO membership × "The visuals of PM Modi's visit clearly pointed to exceptional warmth of friendship and genuineness...The extent of time that President Macron continues to spend with the Prime Minister in the last 36 hours is actually exceptional. Reflects a sense of comfort with each other, genuine friendship, mutual trust, which in a way is also reflective of the state of India, France friendship...," the foreign secretary said. Prime Minister Modi was also bestowed with France's highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, in recognition of his contributions and achievements, Kwatra said. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. ×

Eiffel Tower to pioneer UPI launch in France by September 2023, confirms MEA

<p>France could soon become Europe’s first country to subscribe to India’s digital payment technology Unified Payments Interface or UPI. The announcement could be made during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming two-day visit to France. India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the company behind UPI, and France’s Lyra have been working on the project for over a year now.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Earlier this year, UPI and Singapore’s PayNow signed an agreement that allowed users from both nations to make cross-border transactions.</p>

<h2><strong>Work in progress for over one year</strong></h2>

<p>Last year, India’s Union Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that India’s UPI and Rupay will be available in France soon. He made this announcement when an agreement was inked between UPI and France’s Lyra.&nbsp;</p>

<p>“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,” the minister had said.</p>

<p>If the deal is executed as planned, the linkage will be launched by PM Modi from an iconic location in Paris during his visit.</p>

<h2><strong>How UPI is driving India’s digital payments revolution</strong></h2>

<p>The Economic Survey 2023, which was published earlier this year by India's Finance Ministry, said that UPI accounted for over 52 per cent of the total 8.84 billion digital financial transactions conducted in the fiscal year 2022-23.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:&nbsp;UPI to take over 90% of retail digital payments in India</strong></p>

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<p>The month of December 2022 witnessed a significant milestone for UPI, with transactions reaching an all-time high in terms of value. In that month alone, an astonishing 7.82 billion transactions worth INR 12.8 lakh crore were carried out.</p>

<h2><strong>UPI’s ongoing internationalisation</strong></h2>

<p>The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is currently in discussions to export the UPI system to several Gulf countries, including the UAE and Bahrain. This development is expected to greatly benefit Indian workers residing and working in those countries, as they frequently send money to their family members back in India.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/upi-hits-record-9-billion-transactions-in-may-worth-rs-143-trillion-599456"><strong>Also read:&nbsp;UPI records 9 billion transactions in May worth Rs 14.3 trillion</strong></a></p>

<p>Moreover, the NPCI has already granted permission to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from various countries such as Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK to utilise UPI with their international phone numbers while staying in India.</p>

<p>In an exclusive interview with WION in May, Japan's Digital Minister Kono Taro revealed that his country is seriously contemplating joining India's UPI payment system. This potential collaboration highlights the international recognition and appeal of UPI as a reliable and efficient payment platform.</p>

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France could soon become Europe’s first country to subscribe to India’s digital payment technology Unified Payments Interface or UPI. The announcement could be made during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming two-day visit to France.

France could soon become Europe’s first country to subscribe to India’s digital payment technology Unified Payments Interface or UPI. The announcement could be made during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming two-day visit to France. India’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the company behind UPI, and France’s Lyra have been working on the project for over a year now. Earlier this year, UPI and Singapore’s PayNow signed an agreement that allowed users from both nations to make cross-border transactions. Work in progress for over one year Last year, India’s Union Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that India’s UPI and Rupay will be available in France soon. He made this announcement when an agreement was inked between UPI and France’s Lyra. “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,” the minister had said. If the deal is executed as planned, the linkage will be launched by PM Modi from an iconic location in Paris during his visit. How UPI is driving India’s digital payments revolution The Economic Survey 2023, which was published earlier this year by India's Finance Ministry, said that UPI accounted for over 52 per cent of the total 8.84 billion digital financial transactions conducted in the fiscal year 2022-23. Watch: UPI to take over 90% of retail digital payments in India × The month of December 2022 witnessed a significant milestone for UPI, with transactions reaching an all-time high in terms of value. In that month alone, an astonishing 7.82 billion transactions worth INR 12.8 lakh crore were carried out. UPI’s ongoing internationalisation The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is currently in discussions to export the UPI system to several Gulf countries, including the UAE and Bahrain. This development is expected to greatly benefit Indian workers residing and working in those countries, as they frequently send money to their family members back in India. Also read: UPI records 9 billion transactions in May worth Rs 14.3 trillion Moreover, the NPCI has already granted permission to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from various countries such as Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the UK to utilise UPI with their international phone numbers while staying in India. In an exclusive interview with WION in May, Japan's Digital Minister Kono Taro revealed that his country is seriously contemplating joining India's UPI payment system. This potential collaboration highlights the international recognition and appeal of UPI as a reliable and efficient payment platform. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

France likely to subscribe to India’s UPI during PM Modi’s visit

<p>The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday announced to deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Nepal to bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P), person to merchant (P2M) and potential cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India.<br />
<br />
Nepal is the first country outside India to adopt UPI as the payments platform, driving the digitalisation of cash transactions.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-dismisses-reports-of-threatening-nepal-over-mcc-453416">&nbsp;US dismisses reports of threatening Nepal over MCC</a></strong><br />
<br />
The NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the global arm of the NPCI joined hands with the Gateway Payments Service Pvt Ltd, an authorised Payment System Operators in Nepal, and Manam Infotech Private Limited to deploy UPI in the country.<br />
<br />
"The partnership will enable consumers within Nepal to transact swiftly using state-of-the-art UPI platform and deliver a seamless user experience. We are confident that this initiative will stand as a testimony to NIPL's technological capabilities and vision of scaling our unique offerings globally," said Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL.<br />
<br />
It will also enable the way forward for real-time cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/frustration-mounts-in-nepal-over-mcc-453927">Frustration mounts in Nepal over MCC</a></strong><br />
<br />
In 2021, UPI enabled 39 billion financial transactions amounting to commerce worth $940 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 31 per cent of India's GDP.<br />
<br />
"The same UPI service has created a significant positive impact in India in terms of the country's digital payment transformation. We expect UPI in Nepal would play a pivotal role in transforming the digital economy of the country and dreams of building a less-cash society," said Rajesh Prasad Manandhar, CEO of GPS.<br />
<br />
Mobile penetration of over 135 per cent, with 65 per cent of the population using smartphones, provides a bedrock for seamless replication of the digital revolution in India to be replicated in Nepal.</p>

<p><strong>Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: Nepal's ruling coalition on the 'brink of breakdown'</strong></p>

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Over the next few months, all three companies will work closely together to deploy UPI in Nepal. along with all the functionalities and features presently available in India.<br />
<br />
"We believe this partnership will eliminate all the barriers of payment transformation within Nepal and across the border thereby transforming the regional economy," said Naga Babu Ramineni, Director of Manam.</div>


The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday announced to deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Nepal to bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P), person to merchant (P2M) and potential cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India.

The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday announced to deploy Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Nepal to bolster interoperable real-time person-to-person (P2P), person to merchant (P2M) and potential cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India. Nepal is the first country outside India to adopt UPI as the payments platform, driving the digitalisation of cash transactions. Also read | US dismisses reports of threatening Nepal over MCC The NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the global arm of the NPCI joined hands with the Gateway Payments Service Pvt Ltd, an authorised Payment System Operators in Nepal, and Manam Infotech Private Limited to deploy UPI in the country. "The partnership will enable consumers within Nepal to transact swiftly using state-of-the-art UPI platform and deliver a seamless user experience. We are confident that this initiative will stand as a testimony to NIPL's technological capabilities and vision of scaling our unique offerings globally," said Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL. It will also enable the way forward for real-time cross-border P2P remittances between Nepal and India. Also read | Frustration mounts in Nepal over MCC In 2021, UPI enabled 39 billion financial transactions amounting to commerce worth $940 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 31 per cent of India's GDP. "The same UPI service has created a significant positive impact in India in terms of the country's digital payment transformation. We expect UPI in Nepal would play a pivotal role in transforming the digital economy of the country and dreams of building a less-cash society," said Rajesh Prasad Manandhar, CEO of GPS. Mobile penetration of over 135 per cent, with 65 per cent of the population using smartphones, provides a bedrock for seamless replication of the digital revolution in India to be replicated in Nepal. Watch | Gravitas: Nepal's ruling coalition on the 'brink of breakdown' Over the next few months, all three companies will work closely together to deploy UPI in Nepal. along with all the functionalities and features presently available in India. "We believe this partnership will eliminate all the barriers of payment transformation within Nepal and across the border thereby transforming the regional economy," said Naga Babu Ramineni, Director of Manam.

NPCI to deploy UPI payments platform in Nepal, 1st outside India