on Friday officially launched the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at the iconic Eiffel Tower in France, marking a significant step towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “vision of taking UPI global.”
The formal launch took place at the Republic Day reception in Paris, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was the chief guest at the 75th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on January 26.
Taking to X, the Indian embassy in France shared, “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.” It also posted photos of the event.
UPI, developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016, is an instant payment system that consolidates multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application, streamlining various banking features, fund routing, and merchant payments.
“The new energy in India-France ties from a historic year in the Strategic Partnership visible at 75th Republic Day réception!,” it said.
At present, Indian tourists rank as the second largest group of international visitors to the Eiffel Tower, as per NIPL.
Indian tourists can effortlessly make payments by scanning a QR code generated on the merchant's website. The Eiffel Tower has become the pioneer in France to provide UPI payment options, and this service is poised to expand to various other merchants in the tourism and retail sectors throughout France and Europe in the near future.
In July last year, while on his visit to France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India and France had reached an agreement to implement the UPI payment system, starting with the iconic Eiffel Tower. PM Modi highlighted that this move would enable Indian tourists in France to conduct transactions using the Indian currency, rupees.