UPSC & GPSC · Current Affairs

UPI Goes Live in Greece: India Expands Digital Payments Footprint in Europe

Source: PIB Delhi

What’s in News

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services were formally launched in Greece through a partnership between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Eurobank, witnessed by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal during his visit to Greece – marking another milestone in the internationalisation of India’s digital public infrastructure.

Key Facts

• UPI services were launched through a partnership between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Eurobank, Greece, at an event attended by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry.
• The launch reflects India’s growing leadership in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), with discussions covering trade, investment, innovation, and business cooperation.
• The Minister participated in the India-Greece Business Council Meeting and a Business Forum at the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
• Sectoral roundtables covered energy, ports, logistics, shipping, tourism, defence, food processing, and agriculture.

Static Information

• UPI was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), launched in 2016 by the RBI and NPCI; it enables instant real-time bank-to-bank transfers and operates on the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure.
• NIPL is the international arm of NPCI, established in 2020, responsible for the global expansion of UPI, RuPay and other Indian payment systems.
• India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) ecosystem, the “India Stack“, comprises Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, e-KYC, and the Account Aggregator Framework.
• UPI has expanded to countries including Singapore, UAE, France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, and Greece.