In the month of May, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions reached a record high in terms of both value and volume. The total value of UPI transactions for May amounted to ₹14.3 trillion, showing a 2% increase from the previous month’s value of ₹14.07 trillion. In terms of volume, UPI witnessed 9.41 billion transactions in May, reflecting a 6% rise from the 8.89 billion transactions recorded in April. These figures indicate the continued growth and popularity of UPI as a convenient and widely used digital payment method in India.
Record-Breaking UPI Transactions
- During the last ten days of May, transactions amounting to approximately ₹3.96 trillion took place, as per data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
- This represents a significant increase compared to May in the previous financial year, with transaction volume growing by 58% and value by 37%.
- The surge in transactions aligns with the government’s efforts to promote digital payment for tax collection in various sectors.
- In March 2023, the numbers stood at 8.68 billion transactions with a value of ₹14.1 trillion.
UPI’s Growth
- According to a recent report by PwC India titled ‘The Indian Payments Handbook – 2022-27’, it is projected that UPI (Unified Payment Interface) will reach a remarkable milestone of 1 billion daily transactions by 2026-27.
- In the fiscal year 2022-23, UPI accounted for 75% of the total transaction volume, indicating a significant shift towards digital payments in India.
- The report forecasts a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50%, leading to a surge in the total number of online transactions from 103 billion in FY 2022-23 to 411 billion in FY 2026-27.
- Specifically, UPI transactions are expected to witness a substantial increase from 83.71 billion in 2022-23 to an astounding 379 billion transactions by 2026-27.
- Experts predict that UPI will continue to dominate digital payments, accounting for around 90% of transactions in the next five years.
- This projection highlights the rapid adoption and popularity of UPI as a preferred digital payment method in India.
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) Transactions Witnessed Slow Growth
- In May, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transactions in India witnessed a slight increase of around 1%, reaching ₹5.26 trillion compared to ₹5.21 trillion in April.
- The volume of IMPS transactions also experienced a marginal rise, reaching 500 million in May compared to 496 million in April.
- In March 2023, the volume stood at 497 million with a value of ₹5.46 trillion.
- Compared to May 2022, the May figures showed a growth of 3% in terms of transaction volume and 16% in terms of transaction value for IMPS.
- These numbers reflect the steady growth and popularity of IMPS as a convenient and fast payment option in India.
FASTag Transactions Show Steady Growth
- In May, FASTag transactions in India witnessed a 10% increase in terms of transaction volume, rising from 305 million in April to 335 million.
- In terms of transaction value, there was a 6% increase, reaching ₹5,437 crore in May compared to ₹5,149 crore in April.
- Compared to April 2022, FASTag transactions in May showed significant growth, with a 17% increase in volume and a 24% increase in value.
- In March 2023, the transaction volume for FASTag was 306.3 million with a value of ₹5,067 crore.
- These figures indicate the growing adoption and usage of FASTag as a convenient electronic toll collection system in India, contributing to smoother and faster transactions on highways and toll plazas.
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) Transactions Decline
- In May, the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) experienced a decline of 2.35% in transaction volume, dropping to 99.6 million compared to 102 million in April.
- In terms of transaction value, there was a decrease of 5.4%, with the value reaching ₹28,037 crore in May 2023, down from ₹29,649 crore in April.
- These figures represent a notable decrease compared to the numbers recorded in March 2023, where there were 109.7 million transactions with a value of ₹30,541 crore.
- Furthermore, on a year-on-year basis, AePS transactions were down by 9% in volume and 8% in value terms.
- The decline in AePS transactions may indicate various factors affecting its usages, such as changing customer preferences or shifts in the overall payment ecosystem.
- It highlights the need for continuous monitoring and analysis to understand and address the factors influencing the usage of AePS.
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FAQs
When was UPI launched?
UPI was launched on April 11, 2016. It is a real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that facilitates inter-bank peer-to-peer (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions. UPI is one of the most popular payment methods in India, with over 160 million active users and over 2 billion transactions processed every month.
Which other countries have adopted the UPI Payment system?
India has signed MoUs with 13 countries to integrate with UPI:
France, UAE, Singapore, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Oman, Bahrain, BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg), and Switzerland.
UPI has also been adopted by some banks in the United States, such as Citibank and Bank of America.
