India’s UPI to be launched in Sri Lanka, Mauritius on Monday

The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services and RuPay card services will be rolled out in Sri Lanka and Mauritius at a virtual ceremony on Monday, February 12.

The event will be joined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth and Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth will witness the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, and also RuPay card services in Mauritius on February 12 at 1 PM via video conferencing,” it said.

A real-time payment system,  the UPI has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones.

Similar to a Visa or Mastercard, RuPay is a global card payment network from India, with wide acceptance at shops, ATMs, and online platforms.

The launch of the Indian services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius is taking place amid New Delhi’s increasing bilateral economic ties with the two countries.

“India has emerged as a leader in Fintech innovation and Digital Public Infrastructure. The prime minister has placed a strong emphasis on sharing our development experiences and innovation with partner countries,” the MEA said in a statement.

It 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.

“The launch will enable the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius as well as for Mauritian nationals travelling to India,” it said.

“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,” it added.

(Source: PTI)