TBM Staff - Mumbai
Visitors to the Eiffel Tower in Paris can now book their trips using India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI), as announced by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Friday. NPCI International Payments (NIPL) has collaborated with the French e-commerce and proximity payments provider Lyra to facilitate the acceptance of UPI payments in Europe, beginning with the Eiffel Tower.
An official statement reveals that Indian tourists can now conveniently secure their Eiffel Tower visit by purchasing tickets online through UPI (Unified Payment Interface), streamlining the transaction process. The announcement was made during an event organised by the Indian Embassy in France to commemorate India’s Republic Day in Paris.
Currently, Indian tourists stand as the second-largest international visitor group to the Eiffel Tower. The process involves scanning a QR code generated on the merchant’s website to initiate a hassle-free payment.
The Eiffel Tower becomes the pioneer merchant to adopt UPI payments in France. This service is set to expand to other merchants within the tourism and retail sectors across France and Europe in the near future.
Ritesh Shukla, the Chief Executive of NIPL, expressed the organisation’s ambition to promote the adoption of NPCI’s payment solutions globally, aiming to establish an interoperable global payment system. Shukla emphasised the active collaboration with international financial institutions to form partnerships, offering consumers secure and convenient cross-border payment solutions.
Christophe Mariette, Commercial Director at Lyra France, highlighted the company’s 17-year presence in India. He emphasized that the partnership signifies a significant advancement for players in the French and European tourism ecosystem, holding the promise of new business opportunities in the future.
