Indian Tourists in Eiffel Tower Can Now Pay in Rupees as PM Modi Announces UPI Use in France
Ira Singh
14 July’23
In a groundbreaking move, Indian tourists visiting the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, will now have the convenience of paying for their entry tickets, souvenirs, and other purchases in Indian rupees. This new development comes as a result of an announcement made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to France, wherein he revealed the extension of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system to the European nation. France become Europe’s first country to subscribe to India’s digital payment technology Unified Payments Interface or UPI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (July 13) ,announced that India and France have agreed to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment mechanism and it will begin from the iconic Eiffel Tower, according to media reports.PM Modi said an agreement was in place with the French government and that the first UPI transaction would occur at the Eiffel Tower where tourists would be able to pay in Indian rupees.
“India and France have agreed to use UPI in France. In the coming days, it will begin from the Eiffel Tower, which means Indian tourists will now be able to pay in rupees,” said PM Modi during his speech.
Eiffel Tower to pioneer UPI launch in France by September 2023, confirms MEA
According to recent updates,Unified Payment Interface (UPI) will be launched in France by September 2023, with the iconic Eiffel Tower being the first merchant in the country to accept UPI payments, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday.
“The payment mechanism is in its last phase of production and will go live by September, 2023 with the iconic Eiffel Tower, Paris as the first merchant in France to accept UPI,” it read.
In line with the commitment to foster a thriving digital ecosystem and promote collaboration between India and France, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and France’s Lyra Collect recently signed an agreement to implement UPI in France and Europe. This move is aimed to empower citizens and ensure their active participation in the digital age, MEA said.
The development comes after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the governing body of UPI, signed an MoU with France’s fast and secure online payment system, called Lyra, last year, according to sources.
With UPI making its way to the Eiffel Tower, Indian tourists can now explore the breathtaking landmark with greater ease and convenience, leaving them with more time to appreciate the beauty and history that France has to offer.
UPI’s introduction in India
It was in 2016 that NPCI introduced the UPI system to the country. PhonePe was one of the first platforms to integrate UPI into its system. A year later, several competitors followed suit and since then, UPI has transformed into a behemoth that even foreign nations are looking to get their hands on, according to sources.
The UAE, Singapore, Nepal and Bhutan have already adopted UPI, with a few more countries waiting to join the bandwagon.
For a country like India where technology penetration was extremely low before PM Modi’s NDA government took charge, the success of UPI has been nothing short of a miracle.
The payment infrastructure recorded a whopping 9.93 billion transactions in the month of June with the total value touching Rs 14.75 trillion, according to NPCI.
Most European nations have struggled to move to a cashless economy but in India, even the poorest have seamlessly adopted the novel payment system.