India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has left many foreign leaders in awe of the technology. The latest name to fall prey to this is French President Emmanuel Macron.

“I will not forget this Tea We (he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi) shared together, because it was a Tea Payment with UPI…this is innovation,” Macron mentioned in his speech at the official banquet hosted for him by President Draupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Macron and Modi had kulhad Tea at a shop near Hawa Mahal in Jaipur on Thursday. Modi paid for tea using UPI on his phone. A surprised Macron looked on and saw how Modi showed that the shop owner had also received the payment confirmation on his phone.

Macron also mentioned at the banquet on Friday that he was honored to be a part of “such an important day” (India’s Republic Day celebrations) and said India and France have strong ties. “It doesn’t seem like we’ll be able to live apart. Our meetings have the warmth of meeting friends again, without losing the freshness of new discovery. You were in France in July and I am here in Delhi today,” Macron said.

UPI attracted visiting leaders

France has shown keen interest in adopting UPI from India. During his visit to France in July, Modi said India and France have agreed to use the UPI payment mechanism, starting with the iconic Eiffel Tower, and Indian tourists in France will now be able to make payments in rupees. The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with France’s Lyra Network to accept UPI and RuPay.

Last year, Japanese Digital Minister Kona Taro was in India and met some senior ministers like Ashwini Vaishnaw, who advised him to check the use of UPI in India. The Japanese minister visited a coffee shop in Delhi’s Khan Market and was surprised to see that everyone there was scanning QR codes to make online payments. Upon returning to Japan, the Minister immediately called a high-level meeting to discuss the issue of adopting UPI.

A top government official told News18 that “35-40 countries” are now considering adopting UPI and India is actively engaging with them on the issue. Japan had said as recently as last year that it was considering joining the UPI system. Other countries showing interest in UPI payment system include Bhutan, Malaysia, UAE, Nepal, France, UK, Russia, Oman, Qatar, Australia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea. Are. And Bahrain.