After being recognized as the ‘country of the year’ at Europe’s biggest start-up conference Vivatech 2020, an Indian diplomat stated that India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay will soon be accepted in France.
‘India has started the process in France by signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), International and Lyra Network of France’, Jawed Ashraf, Indian Ambassador in France, told ANI. Ashraf said that when he was the Ambassador of Singapore, he tried to launch Bhim QR and Rupay cards in the city-state.
‘We tried and successfully launched. Most of the merchandise are accepting UPI payments and Rupay cards. I strongly believe that we can do this in Europe also. We are trying to start UPI and Rupay cards soon in France. We will have to discuss this with the central bank, regulator, as well as companies here in France. In France, there is very less use of digital payment. But it needs to be integrated and seamless. It lacks efficiency as we have in India’, Ashraf added.
He also shared his experience with the seamless and transparent mode of digital payment and how effective it could be in France. The Ambassador said that once he went to a doctor but didn’t have the cash or cheque to pay. ‘The doctor asked him to pay in cash or by cheque. He has to visit an ATM to withdraw the cash and pay the doctor. If UPI comes to France, then it will benefit the people of France. If we share the benefits of UPI with the people of France, then they will accept it. Regulators, banks, and companies will accept it. If we implement it in the Bank of France, then I think that we will also be able to push it for the European Union’, Ashraf explained.
However, the Ambassador said, ‘We will have to start with France first. Some banks like BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, etc are having presence in India and they know the success story of UPI. As India is leading the digital technology world, Ashraf said that it has grabbed the issue of semiconductor shortage in the world. India not only talked about the solution but also came with the products. If we talk about the Vande Bharat train which is made in India product, I am sure that we will see the Vande Bharat train in Europe within 5-6 years’, said the Indian Ambassador to France.
Meanwhile, Europe’s biggest start-up conference Viva Technology 2022 event has recognized India as the ‘country of the year’. The Ambassador said that both President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have made digital technology more broadly the central pillar of the strategic partnership in the 21st century.
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