Digital Payments: Mauritius Explores Next Steps with UPI and RuPay

As digital payments increasingly gain traction in Mauritius, the Bank of Mauritius hosted a workshop on Friday, January 30, focusing on the UPI and RuPay systems, organized by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This meeting brought together key players from finance, telecommunications, and public institutions to discuss the evolution of payment usage, technical challenges, and the opportunities presented by connecting Mauritian and Indian payment platforms.

The Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Dr. Priscilla Muthoora Thakoor, expressed the bank's pleasure in welcoming the NPCI teams and local stakeholders to review the operations of UPI and RuPay. Discussions included potential improvements to provide a smoother and more accessible experience for users, as well as defining the next steps. Among the projects mentioned was the establishment of a UPI Global Hub, aimed at connecting the Mauritian payment system to those of other countries already linked to UPI.

Kresh Goomany, CEO of Emtel, discussed the launch of UPI in Mauritius in 2024. He highlighted the central bank's role in enabling interoperability between Mauritian and Indian platforms, allowing Mauritians to make payments in India using QR codes without currency conversion. He noted that Emtel, through the Blink app, was the first operator to offer this capability, while acknowledging that further adjustments are necessary.

Sarat Lallah, Chairman of the Board of Mauritius Telecom, mentioned the evolution of digital usage in Mauritius. He recalled a vision articulated nearly three decades ago of a mobile phone capable of making payments. According to him, the workshop is part of the ongoing digital transformation of the country, with an eye towards introducing contactless "tap-and-go" payments.