Seems like India's chief guest on its 75th Republic Day, Emmanuel Macron is all smitten by India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

"I wouldn't forget the chai we (he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi) shared together, because this was a chai paid with UPI… this is innovation," Macron mentioned in his speech at the official banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu for him at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Macron and Modi had kulhad tea at a shop near Hawa Mahal in Jaipur on Thursday. Modi paid for the tea using UPI on his phone. A surprised Macron watched on and noticed how Modi showed that the shop owner had also got a confirmation of the payment on his phone.

Macron also mentioned at the banquet on Friday that he was honoured to be part of "such an important day" (India's Republic Day function) and said India and France had a strong relationship. "We don't seem to be able to stay apart. Our meetings have warmth of friends meeting again, without losing the freshness of new discovery. You were in July in France and I am here in Delhi today," Macron said.

France has shown strong interest in adopting UPI from India. During his visit to France in July, Modi said India and France have agreed to use UPI payment mechanism which will begin from the iconic Eiffel Tower and Indian tourists in France will now be able to make payments in rupees. The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with France's Lyra Network to accept UPI and RuPay.

A top government official as reported by News18 said that "35-40 countries" are now considering adopting UPI with India being actively engaged with them on the issue. Japan was the latest to say last year that it was considering joining the UPI system. Other countries that have evinced interest in the UPI payments system include Bhutan, Malaysia, UAE, Nepal, France, the UK, Russia, Oman, Qatar, Australia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea and Bahrain.