24 August,2026 04:10 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. File pic.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions have registered a 13,000-fold rise in the annual transaction volume, since its launch a decade ago, according to news agency PTI.
Annual UPI transaction volume rose from 1.78 crore in 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in 2025-26, an almost 13,000-fold increase, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Transaction value, during the same period, jumped from Rs 0.07 lakh crore to around Rs 314 lakh crore, representing a more than 4,000-fold rise, the ministry noted.
The simultaneous growth in transaction volumes and values also underscores the deepening role of UPI in India's high-frequency retail payments ecosystem, it said, adding the next decade of UPI is poised to drive even greater transformation in India's digital payments landscape.
UPI launched on August 25, 2016 is emerging as the backbone of the country's digital payments ecosystem and a global benchmark for real-time payments. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI has recorded an unprecedented expansion in both transaction volume and value over the past 10 years, it said.
The monthly transaction volumes crossed 2,300 crore for the first time in May 2026, reaching 2,320 crore transactions, signalling a new scale of adoption, as per PTI.
The growth momentum continued through the year 2026, as July 2026 recorded 2,366 crore transactions, the highest monthly transaction volume in UPI's decade-long journey, the statement said.
In terms of expansion, UPI has witnessed a steady and broad-based expansion in institutional participation since its launch, as the number of banks live on UPI increased from 44 in 2016-17, the first year of operations, to 703 by 2025-26.
In FY26, it said, UPI transactions totalling 24,162 crore reflected the platform's deep integration into everyday digital payment usage across the country, with robust momentum in the merchant segment.
UPI has enabled to expand access to digital financial services, bridge the digital divide and strengthened financial inclusion through participation from individuals, businesses and merchants across the country in the formal digital economy.
The scale, reliability and interoperability of UPI have drawn global recognition, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledging it as the world's largest real-time payment system by transaction volume, as per PTI.
According to the IMF, as of 2025, UPI accounted for nearly 49 per cent of global real-time payment transaction volumes.
With more than 66 crore transactions processed daily, UPI has become a dominant payments network in India, reinforcing the country's position as a global leader in instant and inclusive digital payments, as per PTI.
UPI has evolved from domestic payments to a platform for cross-border digital transactions.
UPI is currently operational in 11 countries which includes the UAE, France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and Maldives, with Spain likely to join soon.
"By bringing new users and merchants to the UPI ecosystem, Government of India remains committed to enabling the next phase of UPI-led innovation and strengthening India's digital payments ecosystem through continued policy support, technological advancement, and greater financial inclusion," the statement said.
(With inputs from PTI)
