# UPI-Mauritius

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-mauritius
> research date 2026-06-04 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Mauritius and India launch RuPay and Unified Payments Interface Linkage — Bank of Mauritius](https://www.bom.mu/media/media-releases/media-release-mauritius-and-india-launch-rupay-and-unified-payments-interface-linkage)
- [PM to witness launch of UPI services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius — Press Information Bureau, India](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2004976&reg=3&lang=2)

## Overview

The **UPI-Mauritius Linkage** is a combined cross-border payments arrangement between India and Mauritius spanning two complementary rails: **RuPay card** issuance/acceptance and **Unified Payments Interface (UPI)** QR acceptance <sup>[1][1]</sup>. Unlike India's purely outbound tourist-acceptance corridors with Nepal, France, and Qatar, the Mauritius linkage is **bidirectional**: an Indian traveller can pay a Mauritian merchant using UPI, and a Mauritian traveller can pay in India using Mauritius's **Instant Payment System (IPS) app** <sup>[1][1]</sup>. It also enables Mauritian banks to issue RuPay cards domestically through the **MauCAS** card scheme, making **Mauritius the first country outside Asia to issue cards using RuPay technology** <sup>[1][1]</sup>. The project was implemented by the **Bank of Mauritius** and **Reserve Bank of India**, with support from the **National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)** <sup>[1][1]</sup>. Mauritius's national report records the UPI cross-border integration over the MauCAS national switch <sup>[Mauritius report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/MU)</sup>, and India's report documents UPI and RuPay as NPCI-operated rails <sup>[India report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IN)</sup>.

## History

The **RuPay and UPI linkage** between Mauritius and India was **virtually launched on 12 February 2024**, witnessed by Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and (for the parallel Sri Lanka launch) Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, alongside central bank governors <sup>[1][1]</sup><sup>[2][2]</sup>. The launch was a joint India-Mauritius-Sri Lanka event; UPI and RuPay services for Mauritius and Sri Lanka were inaugurated together <sup>[2][2]</sup>. The Bank of Mauritius implemented the project with the support of NPCI <sup>[1][1]</sup>. Mauritius's national report dates the UPI cross-border integration to 2024 over its MauCAS infrastructure (operational since 2019) <sup>[Mauritius report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/MU)</sup>.

## Technical specification

**Linkage model — multi-rail.** The arrangement combines card interoperability (RuPay) with instant-payment QR acceptance (UPI), giving four interlocking capabilities <sup>[1][1]</sup>:

- RuPay cards issued in **Mauritius** are accepted at **ATMs and POS terminals in India** <sup>[1][1]</sup>.
- Indian RuPay cards are accepted at **ATMs and POS terminals in Mauritius** <sup>[1][1]</sup>.
- **UPI QR**: an Indian traveller can pay a Mauritian merchant via UPI by scanning a Mauritius QR <sup>[1][1]</sup>.
- A **Mauritian traveller** can pay in India using the Mauritius **Instant Payment System (IPS) app** <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

**Direction supported — bidirectional.** This is the defining contrast with the Nepal, France, and Qatar corridors: Mauritius supports payments in **both directions**, via UPI for Indian travellers and via the IPS app for Mauritian travellers <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

**RuPay issuance (inbound applies).** Through adoption of RuPay technology, the **MauCAS** card scheme lets Mauritian banks issue RuPay cards domestically — making Mauritius the first country outside Asia to do so <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

**Currency / limits.** FX mechanics and per-transaction caps were not specified in the fetched sources <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

## Use cases

- **Tourist merchant payments (both ways).** Indian visitors pay Mauritian merchants via UPI; Mauritian visitors pay Indian merchants via the IPS app <sup>[1][1]</sup>.
- **Card acceptance abroad.** RuPay cardholders from either country can withdraw cash and pay at POS terminals in the other <sup>[1][1]</sup>.
- **Bilateral trade, tourism, and financial-centre positioning.** The Bank of Mauritius Governor framed the linkage as enhancing financial connectivity, boosting bilateral trade and tourism, and strengthening Mauritius's role as an international financial centre <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

## Implementations

The Indian side uses standard UPI apps and the RuPay card network; the Mauritian side uses the **IPS app** and RuPay cards issued by domestic banks via the **MauCAS** scheme <sup>[1][1]</sup><sup>[Mauritius report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/MU)</sup>. The project was delivered by the **Bank of Mauritius** and **Reserve Bank of India** with NPCI's support <sup>[1][1]</sup>. Mauritius's report notes the UPI cross-border capability integrated with the MauCAS national switch, fully owned by the Bank of Mauritius <sup>[Mauritius report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/MU)</sup>.

## Comparison

UPI-Mauritius is the **most complete** of the four India corridors documented here: where Nepal, France, and Qatar are **one-way merchant-acceptance** corridors (Indian travellers paying foreign merchants, no RuPay issuance), Mauritius is **bidirectional and multi-rail**, pairing UPI QR acceptance with reciprocal IPS-app payments and domestic RuPay card issuance <sup>[1][1]</sup>. In that bidirectionality it is closer in spirit to the **[UPI-PayNow](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-paynow)** account-to-account template than the other three, though the Mauritian reverse leg runs over the IPS app rather than a proxy-addressed remittance rail [[1][1]][UPI-PayNow](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/upi-paynow). Against the multilateral **[Nexus (Project Nexus)](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/nexus)** hub, Mauritius remains a standalone bilateral arrangement that does not settle through a shared instant-payment switch <sup>[Mauritius report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/MU)</sup>.

## Fun facts

- Mauritius is the **first country outside Asia to issue cards using RuPay technology** <sup>[1][1]</sup>.
- The Mauritius UPI/RuPay launch was a **joint virtual event with Sri Lanka**, with two heads of government and a head of state participating <sup>[1][1]</sup><sup>[2][2]</sup>.

## Status

**Live** since 12 February 2024 <sup>[1][1]</sup><sup>[Mauritius report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/MU)</sup>. The Bank of Mauritius's release confirms RuPay issuance via MauCAS and bidirectional UPI/IPS acceptance as operational from launch <sup>[1][1]</sup>. Specific corridor transaction volumes were not disclosed in the fetched sources <sup>[1][1]</sup>.

## Sources

[1] [Mauritius and India launch RuPay and Unified Payments Interface Linkage](https://www.bom.mu/media/media-releases/media-release-mauritius-and-india-launch-rupay-and-unified-payments-interface-linkage) — Bank of Mauritius, 2024
[2] [PM to witness launch of UPI services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2004976&reg=3&lang=2) — Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 2024

[1]: https://www.bom.mu/media/media-releases/media-release-mauritius-and-india-launch-rupay-and-unified-payments-interface-linkage
[2]: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2004976&reg=3&lang=2

## Deployments

_No country reports mention this standard by name._

## Regions / aggregations not mapped to a single country

- India–Mauritius