Indian payment system UPI available in seven countries: conviction of India's four-party payment platform

India's Finance Minister Pankaj Chowdhury said on 6 August that the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been implementing a number of measures to enhance the global reach of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application. The service is now live in seven countries including Bhutan, Singapore, UAE, France, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

In a written reply to the Upper House of the Rajya Sabha, Chowdhury mentioned that one of the key objectives of the 'Payments Vision 2025' document issued by RBI is to expand the international reach of UPI and RuPay, the RBI-backed domestic payment card. He said, "The government, in collaboration with RBI, has been taking various initiatives on a regular basis to expand the global reach of UPI.RBI has been actively engaged with Central Banks, Bank for International Settlements, World Bank, and other institutions to expand the reach of UPI."

Responding to another question, Chowdhury emphasised that the government, RBI and NPCI have been promoting the RuPay card, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities.The RBI has allowed the association of RuPay credit cards with UPI, thereby enhancing its reach and usage and providing a more convenient way of payment to consumers.

Chowdhury also pointed out that RuPay is one of the top three payment service providers in India and the fastest growing credit card network. over 50% of credit cards issued in June 2024 were RuPay credit cards. In addition, the share of transactions processed through RuPay credit cards reached 31.71 TP3T in June.

Notably, the UPI technology was developed by French company Lyra, which has been operating in India for 17 years. Since the Indian government launched UPI in 2016, the technology has revolutionised the mobile payments market in India. Indians are not only using this system for online shopping, but also for purchasing goods from street vendors, including vegetables and cigarettes.