UPI gets Paris push as service launched at famous Galeries Lafayette store

In a major push towards UPI's expansion across the world, Jawed Ashraf, Ambassador of India to France and Monaco, launched the widely popular payments platform at the Paris’ famous store on July 4, 2024. The UPI service was launched at the world-renowned flagship store Galeries Lafayette in Haussman on Thursday.

The start of the UPI services at the famous Paris store comes after the payment method was launched at the famous Eiffel Tower in January 2024. "Delighted to launch @UPI_NPCI in the world-famous @Galeries_Laf in Paris. After the launch in the Eiffel Tower in Jan 2024, expanding UPI across France. A journey that PM @narendramodi began in 2018 with UPI in Singapore takes another step forward," Ashraf says via X. 

The development is especially significant in the wake of the Paris Olympics 2024, which will begin on July 26. UPI could act as an easy payment method for scores of Indians who would be visiting the country during the mega sports event.

Additionally, the UPI operator NPCI's wholly owned subsidiary NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) with Network International (Network), a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, has enabled the acceptance of QR code-based UPI payments via Network’s point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the UAE.

The initiative ensures seamless and secure transactions for Indian tourists and non-resident Indians (NRIs) across Network International’s vast merchant network in the UAE. The network has over 200,000 PoS terminals across over 60,000 merchants in sectors, including retail, hospitality, transport, and supermarkets, among others. 

The number of Indian tourists travelling to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is projected to increase to 9.8 million in 2024, with the UAE anticipating 5.29 million arrivals from India. The growth is driven by various factors including business and leisure. "This will allow Indian tourists and NRIs with Indian bank accounts to use UPI for payments across the Network’s POS terminals in the UAE," the statement says.

Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NPCI International, says by growing UPI payment acceptance across merchants in the UAE, the company is not only providing Indian travellers with a seamless and familiar payment experience but also promoting the use of innovative digital payment solutions internationally.  

Nandan Mer, Group CEO of Network International, says by enabling customers to pay in their preferred method, the company is one step closer to realising its vision to empower businesses and merchants with the latest payment technologies and strengthening the vision of a digital UAE. 

Apart from France, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and UAE, India extended the launch of UPI services in the South American nation of Peru last month. The collaboration between NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) made Peru the first country in South America to adopt UPI. 

The transactions done via Unified Payment Interface (UPI) saw a 2% drop in value and 1% drop in volume in June 2024 as compared to May 2024 even as the total transaction value crossed the ₹20 lakh-crore mark again, according to the latest NPCI data. June saw 49% growth on a year-on-year in transaction count at 13.8 billion, while the growth was 36% in value term at ₹20.07 lakh crore. The average daily transaction count for June stood at 463 million, amounting to ₹66,903 crore average daily transaction amount.