UPI crosses 20 billion monthly transactions for first time
What's the story
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has hit a major milestone by crossing the 20 billion monthly transaction mark in August. The achievement was reported by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which manages UPI. The platform recorded 20.01 billion transactions last month, up from July's 19.47 billion. In terms of value, UPI processed ₹24.85 lakh crore in August, slightly lower than July's ₹25.08 lakh crore but still impressive growth overall compared to previous years and months.
Annual increase
UPI transactions increase 33% YoY in August
When compared to August 2024, UPI transactions have grown by a whopping 33% YoY. Back then, the platform had processed nearly 15 billion transactions. Earlier this month, UPI hit another milestone by crossing the 700 million daily transaction mark for the first time on August 2. It later went on to process a record-breaking 721 million transactions in one day.
Growth reflection
Experts weigh in on UPI's growth
Commenting on the milestone, Dilip Modi, founder & CEO of Spice Money, said that a 33% year-on-year surge and steady month-on-month growth show digital payments are rapidly catching on in rural India. Ramakrishnan Ramamurthy, Chief Delivery and Operations Officer at Worldline INdia also noted that the festive season and increased consumption have driven UPI volumes over July. The platform has become integral to India's digital payments ecosystem since its launch in 2016.
Future target
Government aims for 1 billion daily transactions by next year
The Indian government has set a target of hitting 1 billion (100 crore) transactions per day for UPI. The platform is well on its way to achieving this milestone next year, given its current growth rate. Despite a slowdown in growth compared to previous years, daily transactions have doubled over the last two years. In August 2023, UPI recorded some 350 million daily transactions on average.
Market share
UPI is set to become the world's largest payment platform
UPI dominates India's digital payments market, accounting for nearly 85% of retail digital transactions. The platform has been growing at a monthly rate of 5-7% and an annual rate of around 33-34%. It is also on the verge of surpassing Visa's daily transaction volume, which will make it the largest retail inter-bank payment settlement platform globally.