The wait is finally over! You can now use blink in India to Scan and Pay at more than 50 million places that display a UPI QR code.
Since 12 February when UPI services were launched in Mauritius under the aegis of the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the question was on everyone’s lips as to which service provider would be the first to bring this innovation to the masses. Now, blink by Emtel, the award-winning FinTech app of Mauritius, has announced the exciting news that its customers can use blink in India for payments.
At the formal launch ceremony held on 13 June, the CEO of Emtel, Kresh Goomany said: “It is with great pride that today I’m in front of you to announce yet another exciting, significant milestone in our innovative journey of digital payments. A milestone not just for Emtel, not just for blink, but for the entire country and population. Today, we bring yet another first in Mauritius. Another feature that will benefit all Mauritians travelling to India. Today, blink goes beyond the boundaries of the Republic of Mauritius. I am very proud to announce that one can now use blink when travelling to India.“
He went on to explain that this feature of blink has been made possible by the collaboration between the BoM and NPCI. As such, blink customers having an account with banks such as the State Bank of Mauritius, MauBank, Bank One, Bank of Baroda, and the State Bank of India (SBI Mauritius) can now use blink to make payments in India. Other banks are working on the technical development on their side; once done they will also be live on blink for such payments in India. When a customer initiates a transaction on blink while scanning a UPI QR code, the app will provide a dropdown showing banks that are ready and give an alert if your bank is not yet ready for this service.
Kresh elaborated on the many advantages to blink users who are travelling to India – whether for tourism, shopping, leisure or medical purposes. He emphasised, “In order to use blink in India, obviously you need to be a blink customer. You need to have a bank account, you need to have a smartphone, it has to have data or be connected to Wi-Fi. You would have to link your bank account on blink. Then you will be able to use it in India. If you don’t have blink, one more reason to install it now! So when somebody is in India, has done shopping or wants to pay any service provider, the first thing they need to check is whether the QR code is UPI enabled.“
He continued: “Now, blink customers can transact at millions of shops and outlets that use BHIM UPI QR codes, and the payment will be deducted in Mauritian Rupees in your Mauritian bank account. Using blink in India is as simple and easy as using blink in Mauritius. The flow is very simple. From your blink app, click on the scan & pay tab and scan the INDIA UPI QR codes such as Phone Pay, Gpay and Bharat Pay. Some service providers like Paytm, HDFC bank, ICICI and few others will be enabled soon by NPCI India.
When one Scans a UPI QR code in India, one will be asked to enter the amount to be paid Indian Rupees and get the equivalent in Mauritian Rupees. As soon as one confirms, the payment is processed. The merchant will get a notification of the payment in Indian Rupees and the blink user will also receive a notification of the payment done from his Mauritian bank account. Likewise, Indians will also be able to scan blink UPI enabled QR codes in Mauritius from their India payment apps.”
He ended his speech on the note that the launch was a testament of Emtel’s commitment to make payments easy and more convenient. Summing up, blink users can now scan and pay in India at UPI enabled QR codes. “We are excited to embark on this journey. And we promise you that we will continue to make payments simpler, beyond the boundaries of Mauritius. Today it’s only in India, but I can already tell you now that you can expect more to come soon,” he signed off on this exciting promise.
Next, a demo was held to show the audience how to use the app in practice to make payments in India.
At this point, Atul Bhatia, Chief FinTech Officer, Emtel, addressed the audience, noting that, “It is exactly like making a payment as you do here using blink’s ‘Scan and Pay’ mode. So I’ll run you through how simple and easy it is. We simply go on the blink app, log in and click ‘Scan and Pay’. You can even go to your gallery and pick up the QR code from here. Input the amount in INR. The maximum amount that you can put here is around INR 100,000 for making a payment. Next, you select your bank and proceed. The app gives you the conversion rate and informs you of the amount in INR that you are paying, and what is the converted amount. This converted amount is coming from the regulator, which is the Bank of Mauritius, and NPCI. And you simply say proceed. Enter your PIN.“
Moving on, he noted that the app asks the user to confirm with the merchant that the transaction is successful and they have received the payment. Once the user confirms, the app continues and shows the amount paid in Mauritian Rupee. The user can also see the converted amount in Indian Rupee and even save this receipt for future reference by pressing download.
“Let’s say you went to a saree shop or ate at a restaurant. How much did you actually spend? To refer back, users can go to their recent transactions tab, select it and cross check the amount in Mauritian Rupee and Indian Rupee. You can always go back for your reference and check all the transactions that you have done. So, it’s that simple,” concluded Atul.
The last leg of the event saw Kresh and Atul together on stage, fielding questions from the press, and finally witnessed the entire team behind blink taking to the stage.
“It is a matter of pride for us that customers can now use blink to scan and pay UPI QR codes in India. blink by Emtel has been an integral part of Mauritius UPI journey. We have been working on this project with the Bank of Mauritius since 2023 and are the only mobile operator PSP licence holder to enable this service. With blink, one can scan and pay in Mauritius, in Rodrigues, in Agalega and now in India. blink has always been at the forefront of enabling the digital payment ecosystem in Mauritius, and we will continue to pioneer exciting payment innovations in the future as well,” concluded Kresh Goomany, speaking on the sidelines of the event.
Going forward, it is expected that the ability to use blink to scan and pay in India will ease transactions for Mauritian nationals travelling to India and Indian nationals travelling to Mauritius. This move enhances financial integration between the two countries, broadening the customer base and facilitating the lives of travellers.
How it works
Mauritians going to India will be able to scan and pay any BHIM UPI QR code via blink
-> Customer opens the blink app;
-> Customer opens ‘scan and pay’ tab and scans the BHIM UPI QR;
-> If the QR code is not a BHIM UPI QR code, the customer will get a notification “Invalid QR”;
-> If the QR code is valid, the customer will be requested to enter the INR amount to be paid and the Remarks (Purpose of transaction);
-> The customer will then be shown the equivalent amount in MUR (Mauritian Rupees)
-> Once customer confirms, the transaction is processed and the Indian Merchant will receive a confirmation of the payment as per the existing channels in India;
-> the blink Customer will be notified via SMS OR in the blink app with payment confirmation page on blink;
-> Customer can also check the transaction in the ‘History’ tab;
There is no service fee charged by blink – for now, ‘Zero Fre’.
———— ENDS ————
About Unified Payments Interface (UPI):
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood. It also caters to the “Peer to Peer” collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.
With the above context in mind, NPCI conducted a pilot launch with 21 member banks. The pilot launch was on 11th April 2016 by Dr. Raghuram G Rajan, Governor, RBI at Mumbai. Banks have started to upload their UPI enabled Apps on Google Play store from 25th August, 2016 onwards. It is a regulated smartphone tool that allows for mobile payments to be made without debit or credit cards. The UPI has made paying for transactions easier and simpler, facilitating economic movement within India.
About Emtel:
Emtel is a leading telecommunications company based in Mauritius, offering a comprehensive suite of telecom services. With a strong track record of innovation and industry firsts, Emtel Ltd has consistently pushed the boundaries of technology and service. The company’s investments in the METISS cable, data centers, 5G network, Fintech and the first satellite ground station in Mauritius, in partnership with OneWeb, demonstrate its commitment to staying at the forefront of the telecom industry. Emtel’s focus on innovation, customer satisfaction, and shareholder value creation makes it an attractive opportunity for investors seeking growth and returns in the dynamic telecom sector. Emtel is committed to playing a key role in building a smarter future for Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agalega, a future where positive economic, environmental and societal outcomes are powered by technology.
Emtel has always been true to its core values, integrity and ethics. A brand needs to evolve and adapt to the current needs of its customers and the market. Following a brand refresh in 2019, Emtel came forward with its new tagline, Feel Free. Feel Free represents the essence of the brand and our promise to our customers. We position ourselves as young, vibrant and approachable and aim to empower our customers to have the means to achieve more with limitless possibilities via our unlimited products and services portfolio.
To find out more about us, click here: https://www.emtel.com/about-us/company-profile.
About blink by Emtel:
Contactless, instant, secure and approved by the Bank of Mauritius (BoM), blink is a mobile app launched by Emtel on the 12th of May, 2022. It allows users having a Mauritian bank account to make digital payments using any mobile network through a smartphone or a tablet (connected to WiFi or mobile data).
blink is an App for everyone – whether in Mauritius, Rodrigues or Agalega. blink is a one of its kind app that allows you to transact directly from your bank account, on any smartphone, any network, anywhere, anytime, instantly in a most secured manner.
Payments can be performed by scanning the National QR code (MauCAS). You can also send money instantly from or to any bank, recharge your mobile and much more. blink can also be used in India to scan UPI QR codes and make payments. blink by Emtel is a service by Emtel MFS Co Ltd which operates under a license from the Bank of Mauritius
To find out more about us, click here: https://blink.emtel.com.
