Paris, February 2, 2024: In a groundbreaking move, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was officially launched at the Eiffel Tower during the Indian Republic Day reception on Friday, February 2. This milestone allows tourists visiting the iconic monument to conveniently book their trips using India’s popular payment mechanism. The initiative, spearheaded by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and its international arm NPCI International Payments (NIPL), comes as a significant step in making UPI payments accessible in Europe.
The Indian Embassy in France announced the launch via Twitter, stating, “UPI formally launched at the iconic Eiffel Tower at the huge Republic Day Reception. Implementing PM Narendra Modi’s announcement & the vision of taking UPI global.”
Indian tourists, constituting the second-largest group of international visitors to the Eiffel Tower, can now purchase tickets online using the UPI payment mechanism. This move is expected to streamline transactions, making the process quick, easy, and hassle-free. Tourists can simply scan a QR code generated on the merchant’s website to initiate the payment.
Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL, expressed the aspiration to promote NPCI’s payment solutions globally and establish an interoperable global payment system. “We aim at actively collaborating with financial institutions worldwide to establish partnerships and provide consumers with convenient and secure cross-border payment solutions,” Shukla said.
Christophe Mariette, Commercial Director of Lyra France, highlighted the company’s 17-year presence in India and emphasized the significance of this partnership for the French and European tourism ecosystem. “For the players in the French and European tourism ecosystem, this partnership represents a major advancement and the promise of new business opportunities to come,” he said.
This move not only aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of taking UPI to a global scale but also reflects the growing influence and acceptance of India’s digital payment ecosystem on the international stage. The partnership between NPCI and Lyra is expected to open doors for similar collaborations in the future, bridging the gap between Indian technology and global payment solutions.
