Indian Visitors To Sri Lanka, Mauritius Can Make Payments Through Upi: Rbi

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said the digital payments connectivity with Sri Lanka will enable Indian travellers to make QR code-based payments at merchant locations in Sri Lanka using their UPI apps.

Also, an Indian traveller to Mauritius will be able to pay a merchant in Mauritius using UPI. Similarly, a Mauritian traveller will be able to do the same in India using the Instant Payment System (IPS) app of Mauritius.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, and President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe, witnessed the virtual launch of RuPay cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) connectivity between India and Mauritius, as well as UPI connectivity between India and Sri Lanka.

These projects have been developed and executed by NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), along with partner banks/non-banks from Mauritius and Sri Lanka, under the guidance and support of the RBI.

The Bank of Mauritius and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka have also played an important role in making these possible, the RBI said in a statement.

The facilities have been made operational through select banks/non-banks/Third Party Application Providers in India, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka.

"Going forward, these facilities will be scaled up," the RBI said.

Later, talking to reporters, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said India has played a very pioneering role in promoting digital public infrastructure within India, whether it is the UPI or other digital infrastructure like the Co-win.

"Mauritius being the first African country with which we have entered into this arrangement. It also can act as a gateway for taking our UPI payment systems into other African countries. That is work in progress," he said.

The launch of the Indian services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius came amid New Delhi's increasing bilateral economic ties with the two countries.