Eurobank enables Greece-India UPI remittances

Mumbai: Eurobank will be the first European lender to enable cross-border remittances from Greece and Cyprus to India via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a senior bank official said, while announcing its first representative office in the country.

The UPI service, launched in collaboration with NPCI, began a few days ago in Greece and will soon be introduced in Cyprus.

“The UPI transaction charges will be minimal and will cover the real cost of the platform we operate,” Fokion Karavias, CEO, Eurobank, told the media in Mumbai.

Eurobank is opening a representative office in India following the EU-India trade agreement, which covers 99% of India’s export value to Europe and reduces tariffs on more than 90% of EU exports.

Eurobank, which has total assets of 28 billion euros and a 42% share of deposits in Cyprus, said the move aligns with its expansion strategy. Explaining the rationale for opening a representative office in Mumbai, Karavias said the bank aims to facilitate two-way trade and investment flows.

“We would like to help Indian companies seeking to expand their businesses across the EU and establish their European holding company in Cyprus,” he said.