India-Sri Lanka – Mauritius

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi along with the President of Sri Lanka, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, and also RuPay card services in Mauritius via video conferencing.

BENEFITS:

• Digital transformation will get a boost, local economies will witness positive change and tourism will be promoted.
• Its launch symbolizes the success of Global South cooperation.
• The launch will enable the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius as well as for Mauritian nationals travelling to India.
• The extension of RuPay card services in Mauritius will enable Mauritian banks to issue cards based on RuPay mechanism in Mauritius and facilitate usage of RuPay Card for settlements in India and Mauritius.
• It aligns with India’s policy of ‘Neighborhood First’ and our maritime vision -SAGARe. Security and growth for all in the region. India does not see its development separately from its neighbors.

ABOUT UNIFIED PAYMENTS INTERFACE (UPI):

• It is an advanced version of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)- round–the-clock funds transfer service to make cashless payments faster, easier and smoother.
• UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• UPI is currently the biggest among the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) operated systems including National Automated Clearing House (NACH), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay etc.
• The top UPI apps today include PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and BHIM, the latter being the Government offering.

ABOUT RUPAY:

• RuPay (portmanteau of Rupee and Payment) is an Indian multinational financial services and Payment Service System, conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2014.
• NPCI conceived RuPay as an alternative to Mastercard and Visa, while consolidating and integrating various payment systems in India. RuPay was launched with an objective of a less cash economy.
• It was created to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) vision of establishing a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions.