Edited by Deepali Verma
France has shown great interest in incorporating UPI from Bharat. On Modi’s visit to France in July last year, he said Bharat and France have agreed to use UPI payment mechanism which will start from the iconic Eiffel Tower and Bharat tourists in France will now have the facility to make payments in rupees. The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) has additionally inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with France’s Lyra Network to accept UPI and RuPay.
Japanese Digital Minister Kona Taro on his visit to Bharat last year had met some senior ministers like Ashwini Vaishnaw who advised him to check out the usage of UPI in Bharat for himself. The Japanese minister went to a coffee shop in Khan Market, Delhi and was amazed to see everyone scanning QR codes there for online payments. Once he returned to Japan, the minister immediately called for a high-level meeting to discuss the UPI issue for adoption.
A top government official, in conversation with News18, said that “35-40 countries” are considering adopting UPI with Bharat being actively engaged with them on the issue. Japan was the latest to say last year that it was under consideration to join the UPI system. Other countries that have shown interest in the UPI payments system are Bhutan, Malaysia, UAE, Nepal, France, the UK, Russia, Oman, Qatar, Australia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea and Bahrain.
