UPI in Europe!

If you’re living in India, you would have witnessed the growth of UPI and UPI-linked apps in recent years. And the world has started taking notice of the technology now.

So, we know UPI is a payment mechanism that allows users to instantly transfer funds between two bank accounts using mobile phones. You can even use multiple bank accounts through a single mobile using UPI-based applications. The UPI system was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and is regulated/governed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Bank Association (IBA).

As of now, Indians travelling abroad have to use Forex cards or credit/debit cards for transitions, which means a significant amount of fees is levied on all these transactions. And most of the other payment options also levy some fees for their services. Despite the Western world being ahead in terms of tech development in the past, India might actually have developed the simplest solutions for peer-to-peer and merchant transactions.

And a new partnership between NIPL (NCPI’s international arm) and Worldline means that UPI would be offered in Europe in the near future. The aim of the agreement is to offer the acceptance of UPI across merchants’ POS systems to Indian tourists in Europe. This also opens up the chances of RuPay cards being allowed for payments in Europe sometime in the future.

But the move is obviously not only for the benefit of Indian tourists. The merchants in these countries would see increased sales because of the ease and low cost of UPI payments, which weren’t possible before.

Right now, UPI payments are reported as going to be allowed in Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland and the Netherlands, with plans to expand further into Europe. And it’s not just Europe, Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and France have already entered into cross-border payment agreements to allow UPI transactions.

Suffice it to say, India is geared toward getting ahead of most countries when it comes to payment infrastructure. And this can be used to get increased revenue, increased trade or even leverage for other types of trade deals, who knows?

And while that’s it for this article, you read more from me here. And do let me know if you want a specific topic covered! Subscribe for free to receive more posts like this every day!