After a week of testing in France, India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services were formally introduced in Mauritius and Sri Lanka.  Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth all participated electronically in the inaugural event.

For Indian nationals visiting Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the launch of UPI services in these nations will enable simpler and quicker digital transactions. Furthermore, Mauritians travelling to India would be able to make payments via UPI. RuPay card services were launched in Mauritius alongside UPI, allowing Mauritian banks to issue RuPay cards that may be used for payments in both Mauritius and India.

"Given India's robust cultural and people-to-people linkages with Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the launch will benefit a wide cross-section of people through a faster and seamless digital transaction experience and enhance digital connectivity between the countries," the ministry stated.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which is responsible for developing the digital payment system in India, has achieved a noteworthy milestone with this growth. On April 11, 2016, UPI launched as a trial programme in India. Since then, it has developed into a system that offers a variety of financial services, smooth fund routing, and merchant payments, and unifies several bank accounts into a single mobile application. Using a virtual payment address, consumers can make payments 24/7 through UPI system, which streamlines the process across several banking platforms.

"India has emerged as a leader in Fintech innovation and Digital Public Infrastructure. Prime Minister has placed a strong emphasis on sharing our development experiences and innovation with partner countries," the government has said.

This initiative is part of India's broader vision to share its fintech innovation and digital public infrastructure with partner countries. The government has emphasized India's emergence as a leader in fintech innovation, and the extension of UPI services internationally is a testament to this progress. 

Earlier, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) joined forces with Lyra, a renowned French expert in e-commerce and proximity payments. This collaboration marked a noteworthy achievement, with the iconic Eiffel Tower becoming the first merchant in the country to accept UPI payments. The initiative aimed to simplify the transaction process for Indian tourists visiting France.