India’s real-time payments platform, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), is now accepted at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the first French merchant to do so, and will expand to Paris and Nice airports in the coming weeks, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on June 14, 2026.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the India-France UPI agreement during his July 2023 visit to France, identifying the Eiffel Tower as the initial location. In February 2024, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) partnered with Lyra, a French e-commerce and payments company, to introduce the Unified Payments Interface in France, and the agreement was formally launched at India’s Republic Day reception in Paris. The airport expansion was announced during Foreign Secretary Misri’s June 2026 visit to France as part of broader bilateral consultations on defence, AI, cybersecurity, and civil nuclear energy.
What does UPI acceptance in France actually mean?
As per the NIPL-Lyra agreement, Indian visitors could purchase tickets online using UPI-linked applications by scanning QR codes. France is the first European country to accept UPI payments.
Lyra’s payment infrastructure, which supports online and point-of-sale transactions for merchants in France and Europe, enables this arrangement. At the launch, NIPL and Lyra announced plans to expand the acceptance network to additional tourism and retail businesses, such as hotels, museums, and other establishments popular with Indian travelers.
The rollout targets Indian tourists, not French consumers. UPI transactions are processed through Indian bank accounts and UPI-enabled apps, enabling travelers to pay abroad without depending on cash or international card networks.
UPI’s existing International footprint
Bhutan became the first country to adopt the Unified Payments Interface on July 13, 2021, through a virtual ceremony. Since then, the network has expanded across South Asia and the Middle East. Over 60,000 merchants in the UAE accept it. In Singapore, more than 12,000 merchants are enabled through the PayNow–UPI cross-border link. In Nepal, Unified Payments Interface is available at over 200,000 point-of-sale terminals. Cyprus became the second European nation, after France, to adopt the Unified Payments Interface. This followed PM Modi’s June 2025 visit, during which NPCI signed an MoU with Eurobank Cyprus.
Cross-border UPI transactions increased from 180 in FY22 to over 755,000 in FY25, with total value rising from negligible levels to Rs 258 crore. By July 2025, more than 1.5 million international merchants were enrolled to accept the…
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