Following Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering visit to India on 28 December 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that RuPay cards would be introduced in Bhutan.[61][62] RuPay cards were officially launched in Bhutan on 17 August 2019 with Prime Minister Modi making the first RuPay transaction in the country with a purchase from Simtokha Dzong.[63]