India has achieved what no other country has, according to French President Emmanuel Macron praises, who commended the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for developing a digital identification system that benefits all 1.4 billion people.
India has created a digital identity for 1.4 billion people, something no other country has been able to accomplish, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, who complimented the country’s digital payments system, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), on Wednesday.
During his speech at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi, Macron emphasized how technology has changed the way that regular Indians live their lives. “Ten years ago, a street vendor in Mumbai could not open a bank account—no address, no papers, no access,” he added, opening his speech with a personal story. Today, anyone in the nation can instantaneously and for free pay the same vendor via his phone.
The audience applauded as the French President declared, “India built something no other country has built – a digital identity for 1.4 billion people.”
Macron said it was “great to be back here” for the AI Summit, which he described as a platform influencing the global future of artificial intelligence, and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inviting him to India.
Macron has already commended UPI.
Macron was pleased by UPI during his state visit to India in 2024 after PM Modi used his phone to pay the bill at a Jaipur local store. Outside a store close to Hawa Mahal, PM Modi and Macron drank tea in traditional kulhads, or earthen cups.
Macron looked pleasantly delighted when PM Modi finished the transaction on his phone and the merchant got immediate confirmation. The Prime Minister went on to describe UPI’s functionality, emphasizing its quickness, ease of use, and accessibility in daily transactions.
With UPI, users can easily link several bank accounts to a single mobile app, facilitating peer-to-peer collection requests, merchant payments, and quick fund transfers.
PM Modi declared in July 2023 that Indian tourists would soon be able to use UPI in France. When France became the first European nation to use India’s digital payments system in February 2024, that plan came to fruition.
This came after a collaboration between Lyra and NPCI International Payments Limited, India’s digital payments organization, which allowed UPI to be accepted at merchant locations throughout France.
Indian visitors and students studying in France can now easily make digital payments with their current UPI apps thanks to the move, which signifies UPI’s entry into the European payments ecosystem.
The increasing international acceptance of India’s digital public infrastructure as a paradigm for inclusive innovation is highlighted by Macron’s frequent compliments of UPI.
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