France becomes first European country to accept UPI payments
UPI has been launched in France on Friday. The Indian Embassy in France formally launched the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on 2 February. Now people will be able to pay for tickets for Eiffel Tower through UPI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reacted to this. He said- ‘It was very nice to see this. pleasure to. This is an important step towards making UPI global. This will promote digital payments.’
This launch comes after the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India. Macron reached Jaipur on 25 January. During this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had informed him about the UPI payment digital system.
The French President had become a fan of UPI payment. On January 26, during the state dinner, Macron said – ‘I can never forget the tea I had with PM Modi in Jaipur, because the payment for it was made through UPI. It was very special to me. That tea was the best example of our friendship, warmth, tradition and innovation.’
Agreement between France and India regarding digital payment
While talking to the Indian community during his visit to France in July 2023, Prime Minister Modi had said – ‘There has been an agreement between France and India regarding digital payments. Under this, payments can be made in France through India’s UPI. He had said- Soon Indian tourists will be able to pay in rupees in France.’
NCPI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and France’s Lyra Collect had signed an agreement to implement Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in France and Europe.
UPI was launched in 2016
Unified Payment Interface i.e. UPI was launched in 2016. It has been created by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). It provided the facility to transfer money directly to the bank account in an easy manner. Before this, digital wallet was prevalent. There is hassle like KYC in wallet, whereas in UPI no such thing has to be done.
UPI is operated by NCPI
RTGS and NEFT payment system in India is operated by RBI. Systems like IMPS, RuPay, UPI are operated by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The government had mandated a zero-charge framework for UPI transactions from January 1, 2020.
