UPI Enters France Following NPCI’s MoU Agreement With Lyra Network Last Year

In another boost to India’s United Payments Interface (UPI), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (July 13) announced the payments interface will now be used in France.

Addressing the Indian community in Paris, Modi said, “India and France have agreed to use UPI in France. In the coming days, it will begin from the Eiffel Tower which means Indian tourists will now be able to pay in rupees.”

The development came a year after the National Payments Corporation Of India’s (NPCI) international arm, NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) had signed a MoU with France’s Lyra Network for accepting UPI and RuPay Cards in the country. 

Later, in October last year, the NIPL also partnered with France-based digital payment company Worldline to launch UPI and RuPay payments in Europe.

With this, France became the latest country to join hands in expanding UPI across geographies. 

Earlier this year, the cross-border linkage between UPI and Singapore’s PayNow was completed to enable Indian and Singaporean users to make cross-border payments using their respective mobile apps.

Bhutan, Nepal, UAE, and Canada have also adopted the UPI system in their countries.

Meanwhile, UPI usage continues to see an uptick in usage in the country. As per NPCI data, UPI saw more than 933 Cr transactions worth INR 14.75 Lakh Cr in June this year, registering a 59% jump year-on-year (YoY).

Currently, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm continue to dominate the UPI market. While PhonePe accounted for 47.79% of UPI transactions by volume in June, Google Pay processed 35% of the total UPI transactions. 

Meanwhile, the central government continues to aim for expanding the India stack –  the indigenously-developed digital goods – which includes UPI, Aarogya Setu and DigiLocker, among others.

During the World Government Summit held in Dubai in February this year, seven countries were expected to sign agreements with India to use India stack.