Transactions between India and Mauritius at preferential rates now possible

The Indian RuPay card services and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system allowing Mauritian and Indian tourists and visitors to make debit or credit card payments using their local Mauritian and Indian cards were jointly launched today, by videoconference, by the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Shri Narendra Modi. The Mauritian Prime Minister attended the event at the InterContinental Resort, Balaclava.

The new payment system was simultaneously launched in Sri Lanka by that country's President, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

In his opening speech, Pravind Jugnauth said that Indian RuPay card and UPI system was a flagship project of the Indian government in Mauritius and Sri Lanka to enable seamless cross-border financial transactions in a faster and more efficient manner. “India and Mauritius share strong cultural, commercial and interpersonal ties and today, we are giving a new dimension to this relationship with the launch of the new payment system,” he underlined. The BoM’s collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India and the Reserve Bank of India, he highlighted, marked a new chapter in the history of payments in Mauritius.

He indicated that the system will allow Indians visiting Mauritius to make payments by scanning QR Codes of merchants with their mobile applications and the same for Mauritians visiting India. Payments will be instant and will be made in the national currency with direct conversion, eliminating the need for their currency, which he says will be faster, cheaper and more secure. He highlighted that the RuPay card, which has been co-branded with our national payment switch, MAUCAS, will be designated as a domestic card in Mauritius.

Access to digital services and digital public infrastructure, as well as exploiting digital transformation opportunities to drive sustainable and inclusive growth, is our top priority, said Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. Mauritius, he said, has already embarked on its digital transformation and one of the highlights of this journey is an efficient, fast and cheap payment system. The BoM, he stressed, has been at the forefront of developing payment systems to promote orderly and balanced economic development.

Regarding the area of payments, the BoM modernized payment infrastructures by setting up a real-time gross settlement system, the Mauritius Automated Clearing and Settlement System (MACSS), in 2000, he recalled . The MACSS, he added, was upgraded to support multi-currency transactions, followed by the completion of the automation of the Port Louis Clearing House.

Speaking about the innovative digital platform, MAUCAS, he indicated that it has revolutionized the payments landscape in Mauritius with the vibrant ecosystem of private banks and non-bank payment service providers, thereby driving innovation and developments. FinTech. Rapidly evolving technologies are driving the shift to digital payments and the bank has transformed the national payments landscape into an environment conducive to new operators, services and products, the Prime Minister observed.

Il a en outre exprimé sa profonde gratitude au gouvernement indien pour avoir apporté son expertise et son soutien afin de tirer parti de la transformation numérique du pays.