The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) proudly announced that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has achieved an astounding milestone by recording over 10 billion transactions in August. This achievement underscores the growing popularity of digital payments in India.
According to NPCI data, on August 30, UPI recorded 10.24 billion transactions worth Rs 15.18 trillion ($185 billion) by August 30, surpassing July’s 9.96 billion transactions worth Rs 15.34 trillion ($184 billion).
This remarkable achievement towards UPI expansion worldwide results from several factors, including the Indian government’s initiatives to promote a cashless economy, the increasing use of smartphones, and a growing number of digitally savvy consumers. The rapid growth of UPI transactions, which took over seven years to reach this milestone, reflects the transformative impact of digital payments in the country.
Industry experts suggest that there is still ample room for growth in UPI transactions. Sunil Rongala, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy for India at Payments Services Firm Worldwide, stated, “At 10 billion, there is still a lot of room for UPI transactions to grow. P2M (peer to merchant) transactions are growing at over 100% year-on-year, and it will be no surprise if monthly UPI transactions hit 20 billion in the next 18-24 months.”
UPI’s growth has been phenomenal, with transactions increasing by over 50% year-on-year. In October 2019, UPI crossed the 1 billion monthly transactions mark, taking less than four years to achieve a fourfold increase in adoption.
With UPI transactions on the rise and digital payments becoming increasingly ubiquitous, India’s journey towards a cashless economy is well on its way to achieving even greater milestones in the coming years.
