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India’s UPI and RuPay Launch in Sri Lanka & Mauritius
Launch of UPI Services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius
Digital financial services integration between India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius will increase with the launch of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the two island nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, will digitally inaugurate the adoption of India’s real-time payments system UPI in their respective countries on February 12, 2024. Additionally, the RuPay card payment network will go live in Mauritius.
The extension of India Stack technologies to new international markets highlights strengthening bilateral financial and digital bridges. India aims to harness its domestic digital public infrastructure success for furthering diplomatic ties and supporting development in the Global South.
The UPI and RuPay launch event with Sri Lanka and Mauritius signifies continued cooperation within the neighborhood and Indian ocean region per prevalent foreign policy priorities. It also underscores India’s leadership in building developmental partnerships via connectivity enhancing fintech innovation sharing based on reciprocity and mutual benefit.
About UPI
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time digital payments infrastructure the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) developed. UPI enables round-the-clock interbank transactions via simple payment addresses. This allows for instant transfer of funds between banks, merchants and individuals in India. According to the available data, UPI transactions in 2023 recorded over 1,200 crore transactions worth Rs 182.2 lakh crore, up 59% in volume and 45% in value compared to 2022.
International Expansion of UPI
Given the exponential success of UPI in India, the system has garnered international interest. In alignment with the Ministry of External Affairs’ multi-pronged development partnership approach, India proactively signed agreements with emerging economies to share proven open-source innovations like the India Stack.
As of June 2023, India inked over 15 Memorandums of Understanding with countries in the Global South to export UPI technical infrastructure for promoting equitable growth. NPCI already launched UPI services with France, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and now Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Further expansion to Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and United States is underway.
Benefits of International Expansion of UPI
The launch of UPI and RuPay in Sri Lanka and Mauritius will deliver specific transactional advantages. For Indian tourists and businesses in the two countries, accessing UPI’s unified payments mechanism means financing daily expenses via seamless, prompt digital means.
UPI facilitation in local currencies will reduce foreign exchange handling challenges. Moreover, the enablement of RuPay network participation for Mauritian banks signifies their customers can avail domestically issued payment cards for payments both in India and Mauritius. This amplifies options for banking clients while traveling and eases remittance flows back home.
India’s Leadership in Digital Public Infrastructure
India is using its leadership in digital technology to help other growing countries. The Ministry of External Affairs wants to create special partnerships to share India’s technical knowledge with nations in Asia, Africa and South America. Unlike China which funds big, expensive infrastructure projects like China’s Belt & Road infrastructure projects that can risk debt burdens, India promotes adaptable digital tools for more fair development. A planned Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository would let countries jointly create people-focused, creative digital services that match local needs.
Contribution to India’s Foreign Policy
India’s technology diplomacy highlights sharing its India Stack digital tools abroad. Signing deals to use India’s UPI system brings opportunities for jointly developing services benefiting both countries’ economies. Exporting India’s digital payment knowledge helps other nations in Asia, Africa, South America build modern payment abilities sustainably. It also strengthens cultural ties and travel connections with those markets.
How does UPI support India’s foreign policy goals?
Exporting UPI and other homegrown innovations aligns with India’s technology diplomacy and priorities to assume leadership in the Global South through digital capacity building.