In a move that could spur Indian tourism in Sri Lanka, Bengaluru based PhonePe has launched PhonePe UPI payments in partnership with LankaPay.
PhonePe at an event to mark the colloboration, said that its app users travelling to Sri Lanka can make payments using UPI (Unified Payments Interface) across LankaPay QR merchants. The transactions will be facilitated by the UPI and LankaPay National Payment Network. Users can scan LankaQR code to make secure and quick payments without carrying cash or calculating currency conversions. The amount will be debited in Indian currency, showing the currency exchange rate.
India's high commissioner to Sri Lanka, Santosh Jha, and the governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, along with banking sector executives, payments system providers and business associations were present at the launch event.
While urging Sri Lankan firms to engage with Indian companies to build on the UPI stack for innovations in hotel bookings, cab bookings and delivery services, Santosh Jha also said that the ease of a familiar digital payments system would encourage tourism from India.
On February 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe inaugurated the launch of UPI services in Sri Lanka, in collaboration with LankaPay.
Also watch: ICICI bank unveils UPI payments for NRI customers with international numbers