India's UPI payment system goes live at Nice's Galeries Lafayette

India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was launched at the Galeries Lafayette store in Nice Massena, France, by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The launch, carried out with Lyra Collect and NPCI International Payments Ltd, is presented as a step toward expanding the Indian digital payments platform across high‑footfall French locations visited by Indian tourists, students and business travelers.

The event follows recent India‑France talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron, which highlighted deeper economic and technological cooperation. Officials noted that UPI is already operating at several French venues, including the Eiffel Tower, and is slated for rollout at airports such as Nice Côte d'Azur and Paris‑Charles de Gaulle. The Nice launch follows the platform's earlier expansion into Cambodia, marking its eighth international market.

India views the rollout as a way to showcase its ability to deliver trusted, seamless, and interoperable digital solutions at scale while strengthening bilateral ties with France.