25 August,2026 12:35 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pic/PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday marked 10 years of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), highlighting the scale of India's digital payments network and describing its growth over the past decade as an achievement every Indian can be proud of.
PM Modi said the launch of UPI had marked a major turning point in the country's digital payments journey and urged people to share their experiences of using the platform and how it had affected their daily lives.
Taking to X, PM Modi said, "A decade ago, UPI was rolled out, marking a major turning point in India's digital payments journey. The sheer scale and reach of UPI are something every Indian must be proud of."
Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI has become a central part of India's digital payments ecosystem over the past decade.
The real-time payment system has expanded rapidly, allowing users to transfer money directly between bank accounts through mobile devices. Its widespread adoption has also changed how consumers and businesses make and receive payments, from everyday retail transactions to larger digital transfers.
UPI has also expanded beyond India's borders and is currently accepted in 11 countries. Greece and the Maldives are the latest countries to adopt India's real-time payment platform.
According to the official factsheet, UPI is operational in Bhutan, Nepal, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Qatar, enabling cross-border digital payments.
The international expansion has been accompanied by a sharp increase in domestic usage, with the platform recording substantial growth in both transaction volumes and value.
The figures underline the scale at which digital payments have been adopted in India over the past decade, with UPI becoming a major channel for retail payments.
UPI's annual transaction volume increased nearly 12,000-fold between 2016-17 and 2025-26, according to the official factsheet released on Monday.
Annual transactions increased from 2 crore in 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in 2025-26.
The value of transactions also recorded a substantial increase during the period. Annual transaction value rose from Rs 0.07 lakh crore to nearly Rs 314 lakh crore, representing an increase of more than 4,000 times.
The network has continued to expand in the current financial year. In July 2026, UPI comprised 741 live banks and processed 2,365.8 crore transactions worth Rs 29.87 lakh crore.
India's UPI network has also emerged as a significant part of the global real-time payments landscape.
UPI accounted for nearly 49 per cent of global real-time payment transaction volume in 2024, according to the official information. The scale of India's system was also highlighted by the International Monetary Fund in its report, 'Growing Retail Digital Payments: The Value of Interoperability'.
The growth has strengthened India's position in the global digital payments space and has led to increasing interest in interoperable real-time payment systems.
The UPI ecosystem has also added new authentication options aimed at making digital payments easier and more accessible.
On-device authentication was introduced for UPI in 2025, allowing users to authorise payments through smartphone fingerprint or face-unlock features.
Aadhaar-based face authentication has also been introduced to simplify UPI PIN onboarding. The feature is particularly intended to help first-time users, senior citizens and people who may not have easy access to payment cards.
As UPI completes a decade, Modi has sought to highlight not only the growth in transaction volumes but also its impact on everyday financial transactions.
The Prime Minister urged citizens to share their experiences of using UPI and explain how the payment platform had changed their lives.
Over the past 10 years, UPI has evolved from a new digital payment platform into a widely used part of India's financial infrastructure, while its expansion into international markets has given the system a growing presence beyond the country.
(With inputs from IANS)
