NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and Eurobank, a leading Greek financial institution, have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at bolstering cross-border payments facilitated by the UPI platform.

This development follows the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' recent visit to India, during which he engaged in bilateral discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A joint press release stated on Thursday clarified that this collaborative effort is geared towards enhancing the international money transfer facility, with a specific emphasis on optimising remittance channels from Greece to India.

The MoU was formalised at the Embassy of Greece in New Delhi, by Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL, and Fokion Karavias, CEO of Eurobank. Noteworthy attendees included Kostas Fragogiannis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Maira Myrogianni, Secretary General for International Economic Affairs of Greece and Chairperson of Enterprise Greece, as well as Sanjay Tugnait, President and CEO of Fairfax Digital Services.

The signing of this MoU establishes the groundwork for a strategic partnership wherein both entities will serve as primary points of contact, facilitating foreign inward remittance transactions from Greece to India.

According to the press release, this collaborative initiative is poised to position Greece at the forefront of European nations enabling the Indian diaspora residing in the country to seamlessly execute swift remittances to India leveraging UPI infrastructure.

“A strategic alliance with NPCI International is also fully in line with Eurobank’s strategic commitment to becoming the bank of choice for Indian businesses seeking to establish themselves in Greece or in Cyprus, as an entry point for their EU franchise,” said Fokion Karavias, CEO of Eurobank.

“It showcases the versatility and strength of UPI within the international financial landscape, paving the way for strengthening India-Greece economic ties through enhanced remittance flows,” said Ritesh Shukla, CEO of NIPL.

India has emerged as a leader in fintech innovation and Digital Public Infrastructure and placed a strong emphasis on sharing its development experiences and innovation with partner countries.

UPI is India’s mobile-based fast payment system, which facilitates customers to make round-the-clock payments instantly, using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer.

The UPI payment system has become hugely popular for retail digital payments in India, and its adoption is increasing at a rapid pace. In 2023, a record 100 billion transactions valued at Rs 2 trillion were made via UPI.

A key emphasis of the Indian government has been on ensuring that the benefits of UPI are not limited to India only, and other countries should benefit from it too.

So far, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, France, UAE, and Singapore have partnered with India on emerging fintech and payment solutions.