NEW DELHI: A report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become a remarkable mode of digital payments in India. UPI's share in digital payments increased significantly from 34 percent in 2019 to an impressive 83 percent in 2024. Over the past five years, UPI recorded a growth rate of 74 percent annually.
Meanwhile, the share of other payment methods, such as NEFT, RTGS, IMPS, debit cards and credit cards dropped from 66 percent in 2019 to just 17 percent in 2024. According to the report, UPI's growth is largely due to its simplicity and convenience.
The report highlights that UPI transactions saw a massive jump in numbers, growing from 375 crore in 2018 to 17,221 crore in 2024. The total value of these transactions also grew from Rs.5.86 lakh crore in 2018 to Rs.246.83 lakh crore in 2024, with an annual growth rate of 89.3 percent in transaction volume and 86.5 percent in transaction value over five years.
UPI enables both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, offering secure and instant payments. While UPI P2M transactions exceeded UPI P2P in terms of volume in 2023, P2P transactions continue to dominate in terms of value.
India’s digital payments have seen extraordinary growth, primarily driven by UPI and the variety of digital payment options available. In 2024 alone, India recorded 208.5 billion digital payment transactions.
The report also noted the growth of UPI transactions for smaller and larger amounts. UPI P2M transactions under Rs.500 grew at a rate of 99 percent annually between 2019 and 2024, while UPI P2P grew at 56 percent during the same time. For transactions above Rs.2,000, UPI P2M grew at 109 percent annually, compared to 57 percent for UPI P2P.
The NPCI introduced UPI Lite for low-value transactions, which processed 2.04 million transactions daily in December 2024, amounting to Rs.20.02 crore in value. UPI Lite was launched by Paytm and PhonePe in February and May 2023, respectively, contributing to the steady increase in its usage.
The report praised UPI for transforming India into a leader in digital payments. It noted that UPI’s public-good approach could serve as an example for other countries, helping to make digital payments accessible to everyone, including underserved segments of the population.
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