India has successfully launched the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Greece, marking another significant milestone in the global expansion of the country's digital payment ecosystem. According to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, this development comes as he is in Athens for an official visit, where he witnessed the live demonstration of the Eurobank-NIPL partnership enabling UPI services at Eurobank headquarters. The minister was accompanied by Eurobank CEO Mr. Fokion Karavias and Fairfax Digital Services CEO Mr. Sanjay Tugnait during the demonstration. During his visit, Minister Goyal met with Harry Theoharis, Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece, and addressed the India-Greece Business Forum, where he interacted with members of the Indian diaspora community. As per PTI, the growing global adoption of UPI reflects confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of developing technology-driven solutions that create value beyond national borders and strengthen international partnerships.
Eligible customers in Greece can now transfer money instantly, securely, and seamlessly through UPI services. The minister emphasized that transaction costs have reduced drastically to a fraction of conventional transfer costs, making international payments significantly more accessible and affordable for travelers. This launch builds upon India's previous international UPI deployments, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 2024 and the Galeries Lafayette department store in Nice, France in recent weeks. The minister noted that with UPI now live in Greece, eligible customers can enjoy instant, secure, and low-cost cross-border transactions, providing a consistent digital payment experience for Indian travelers in the region.
As of July 2026, India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) can officially be used in ten countries for transactions. According to the latest data, Bhutan was the first country to accept UPI payments by enabling QR payments across many merchants in 2021. The United Arab Emirates followed in 2021, where Indian tourists and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) can make seamless, cross-border payments at over 60,000 merchant outlets. Singapore introduced UPI in 2023 through Singapore's PayNow system, enabling instant cross-border transfers. Mauritius and Nepal both adopted UPI in 2024, with Mauritius collaborating with NPCI to accept UPI and RuPay cards, while Nepal integrated UPI with its payment ecosystem. France became the first European country to accept UPI in 2024, enabling retail purchases, with expansion expected in the near future. Sri Lanka enabled UPI for tourists in 2024, and Qatar launched UPI services for Indian travelers and merchant payments in 2025. The Cambodia launch in 2026 represents the most recent expansion, with the first phase allowing Indian travelers to pay at over 4.5 million merchants, and a two-way payment corridor planned in the next phase.
During his Greece visit, Minister Goyal had fruitful discussions with Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias on expanding the India-Greece economic partnership. As reported by PTI, the minister encouraged Greek businesses to invest in India and explored avenues for collaboration in manufacturing and infrastructure development in Greece, advancing their shared vision for growth and prosperity. Highlighting India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals and sustained economic growth, Goyal said the country offers significant opportunities for Greek businesses and investors. The minister also emphasized the immense potential of the India-EU FTA in unlocking new opportunities for trade, investment and economic cooperation. According to PTI, discussions also focused on expanding collaboration across key sectors, with an emphasis on encouraging businesses to co-create, co-invest and co-manufacture with India to strengthen bilateral economic ties and promote shared prosperity.
According to the minister's social media post, UPI is now accepted in ten countries including Greece, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. This extensive network enables Indian travelers to make seamless payments abroad through familiar platforms, providing a consistent digital payment experience regardless of destination. The minister noted that the increasing global acceptance and appreciation of UPI reflects the trust in India for building technology-led solutions that create value beyond borders and deepen partnerships for shared growth and prosperity. With this latest launch in Greece, India's digital payment ecosystem continues to expand its global footprint, offering Indian travelers and businesses a familiar payment solution across multiple international markets. NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of NPCI, continues to collaborate with foreign banks, payment networks and governments to increase global acceptance of UPI.
