Digital payments accounted for 99.8% of transactions in H1: RBI
What's the story
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revealed that digital payments have taken over the Indian economy, accounting for a whopping 99.8% of total transaction volume and 97.7% of the total payment transaction value in the first half of 2025. This is a huge leap from just 96.7% by volume and 95.5% by value in 2019, highlighting how quickly Indians are adopting digital payment methods.
UPI's usage
UPI's dominance in transaction volume
In the first half of 2025, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) dominated the digital payment space, accounting for a whopping 85% of total transaction volume. However, it only contributed to 9% of the transaction value. This is because UPI handles a large number of low-value transactions, giving it a high share in terms of volume but relatively lower in terms of value.
RTGS contribution
RTGS leads in transaction value
The Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system contributed the most to transaction value in the first half of 2025, accounting for 69% of total transaction value. However, it only accounted for a meager 0.1% of total transaction volume during this period. The disparity between UPI and RTGS's contributions is due to their different transaction value bands. While UPI handles smaller transactions, RTGS deals with larger ones, with a minimum limit of ₹2 lakh.
Transaction growth
Decade-long growth spurt
According to the RBI's 'Payment Systems Report,' digital transactions have witnessed a staggering 38-fold increase in volume and over three times in value over the past decade. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for this period was 52.5% by volume and 13% by value. Over the last five years, digital payments have grown 6.6 times in volume and 1.6 times in value, with a five-year CAGR of 46% by volume and 10% by value.