Terming its as taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vision of taking UPI global”, the payments system was formally launched by the Indian Embassy in France at the Eiffel tower in Paris on Friday.

Paris, France: India’s UPI, Friday, took its first steps towards a global launch as the ground-breaking digital payments system was formally launched in France at the iconic Eiffel Tower in French capital. Paris.

Terming its as taking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vision of taking UPI global”, the payments system was formally launched by the Indian Embassy in France at the Eiffel tower on Friday.

“UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. Implementing PM @narendramodi’s announcement & the vision of taking UPI global,” the Indian Embassy in France tweeted on its official X handle while sharing pictures of the event.

UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. 🇮🇳➡️🇫🇷

Implementing PM @narendramodi’s announcement & the vision of taking UPI global. pic.twitter.com/abl7IPJ0To

— India in France (@IndiaembFrance) February 2, 2024

“The new energy in India-France ties from a historic year in the Strategic Partnership visible at 75th Republic Day reception!,” the official handle X posted and thanked the Minister Delegate in charge of Democratic Renewal, Government Spokesperson Prisca Thevenot for honouring the occasion.

It also thanked the members of Parliament, business leaders, scholars, friends of India & Indians in France.

PM Modi explains UPI to France’s Macron

Incidentally, at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, was the Chief Guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on January 26.

Macron had arrived in Rajasthan’s Jaipur a day ahead of the Republic Day celebrations and toured the Pink City along with PM Modi.

The two leaders had visited a local shop during their visit to Hawa Mahal in Jaipur where PM Modi explained the UPI digital payments system to the French President.

Book Eiffel tower tickets via UPI

Earlier today, the NPCI had announced that tourists visiting Eiffel Tower will now be able to book their trip to the iconic monument using UPI payments.

In a statement, the NPCI said its arm NPCI International Payments (NIPL) has tied up with French e-commerce and proximity payments Lyra, which will help ensure that the UPI payment mechanism is accepted in the European country, starting with the Eiffel Tower.

“Indian tourists can now book their visit to the Eiffel Tower by purchasing tickets online using UPI (Unified Payment Interface), making the transaction process quick, easy, and hassle-free,” an official statement said.

The announcement was made in Paris at an event organised by the Indian Embassy in France to celebrate India’s Republic Day, it added.

At present, Indian tourists rank as the second largest group of international visitors to the Eiffel Tower, it said. Indian tourists can simply scan a QR code generated on the merchant’s website and initiate a payment.

What is UPI?

Unified Payments Interface is an Indian instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016.

According to NPCI, UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.

(With inputs from agencies)