**Executive Summary**
This report celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), detailing its evolution from its 2016 launch to becoming the world's largest real-time payments platform by 2026. In FY 2025-26, UPI recorded over 24,162 crore transactions valued at ₹314 lakh crore, accounting for 49% of global real-time payment volumes. The document outlines UPI's role in anchoring India’s digital economy and its expansion into international markets.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Growth and Market Scale**
* **Massive Expansion:** Transaction volume grew nearly 12,000-fold from 2 crore in FY 2016-17 to 24,162 crore in FY 2025-26.
* **Surge in Value:** Annual transaction value rose from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY 2016-17 to approximately ₹314 lakh crore in FY 2025-26.
* **Market Dominance:** UPI currently facilitates 85% of India’s digital payments and nearly half of all global real-time transactions.
* **Daily Usage:** As of 2025, the system processes a daily average of 66 crore transactions.
**Ecosystem and Institutional Participation**
* **Bank Onboarding:** The number of participating banks increased from 21 at launch to 703 banks by March 2026.
* **Diverse Participants:** The network includes public, private, small finance, payment, and cooperative banks acting as Remitter and Beneficiary Payment Service Providers (PSPs).
* **Regulatory Oversight:** Operations are managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
**Transaction Segmentation**
* **Person-to-Merchant (P2M):** Dominates transaction volume (63%), driven primarily by micro-payments, with 86% of transactions valued below ₹500.
* **Person-to-Person (P2P):** Dominates transaction value (71%), serving as the primary channel for higher-ticket fund transfers.
**International Presence**
* **Global Recognition:** The IMF recognizes UPI as the world’s largest real-time payment system by transaction volume.
* **Operational Countries:** UPI is currently operational in eight countries/regions: UAE, Singapore, France, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Qatar.
**Impact Analysis**
**Citizens and Individual Users**
**Impact**
Users benefit from a reliable, interoperable, and inclusive platform for both high-frequency micro-payments and large-value transfers.
**Action Required**
Continue utilizing the platform for digital payments while benefiting from its expansion into international travel corridors.
**Merchants and Businesses**
**Impact**
UPI has integrated digital payments into routine commerce, with the majority of merchant transactions being low-value "small-ticket" payments.
**Action Required**
Adopt and maintain UPI-based payment points to cater to the 63% of transaction volume originating from P2M activities.
**Banks and Financial Institutions**
**Impact**
Banks serve as critical infrastructure providers (PSPs); their performance metrics are monitored by NPCI to ensure system reliability.
**Action Required**
Banks must ensure technological readiness to support increasing transaction loads and comply with NPCI performance standards.
**Government of India and Regulators**
**Impact**
The success of UPI has established India as a global leader in digital public infrastructure and financial inclusion.
**Action Required**
Provide continued policy support, drive technological advancements, and facilitate the onboarding of new users and merchants for the next decade of innovation.
Key Entities Referenced
Unified Payments Interface (UPI): India's instant real-time payment system and digital public infrastructure that serves as the backbone of the country's digital payments ecosystem.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI): The organization that developed and launched UPI and remains responsible for monitoring its performance and operational metrics.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI): The central bank and regulatory authority providing oversight for the UPI platform and India's digital payment landscape.
International Monetary Fund (IMF): The global financial institution that recognized UPI as the world’s largest real-time payment system by transaction volume.
Ministry of Finance
UPI completes 10 glorious years, Emerges as
World’s Largest Real-Time Payments Platform,
Anchoring India’s Digital Economy
Transaction volume surges nearly 12,000-fold in last 10 years,
Value exceeds ₹314 lakh crore in FY 2025–26, reflecting deep
nationwide adoption
Over 700 banks onboarded as UPI captures nearly 49% of
global real-time payments, driving high-frequency retail
usage and inclusive digital growth
Posted On: 30 APR 2026 7:10PM by PIB Delhi
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on 11 April 2016 by the National Payments Corporation
of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has emerged as the
backbone of India’s digital payments ecosystem and a critical driver of financial inclusion.
Over a decade of operations, UPI has demonstrated extraordinary scale and momentum. Annual
transaction volume expanded from just 2 crore transactions in FY 2016-17 to over 24,162 crore
transactions in FY 2025-26, representing an almost 12,000-fold surge in transaction volume. Parallelly,
transaction value rose sharply from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY 2016-17 to approximately ₹314 lakh crore in
FY 2025-26, translating into a more than 4,000-fold increase in transaction value.
This simultaneous expansion in both volume and value highlights UPI’s deepening role in supporting
high-frequency retail payments. The unprecedented scale, reliability, and interoperability achieved by UPI
have received global recognition, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledging it as the
world’s largest real-time payment system by transaction volume, underscoring India’s leadership in
building scalable, inclusive, and innovative digital public infrastructure.
INDIA CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF UPI
A Decade of Transforming India's Digital Payment Landscape
From 21 Banks & 0.01 Crore Transactions in a month in the Year 2016 to 700+ Banks & 2000+ crore
Transactions in a month in the Year 202524,162 Crore ₹314 Lakh Crore 66 Crore ₹0.86 Lakh Crore
Annual Transactions Annual Value Daily Average Daily Average Value
(FY2026) Transactions
(FY2026) (FY2026)
I. The Decade in Numbers
UPI AT A GLANCE : KEY STATISTICS (NPCI)
Annual Transaction Volume (FY2025-26) 24,161.69 Crore
Annual Transaction Value (FY2025-26) ₹314 Lakh Crore
YoY Volume Growth (2025-2026) 30.0%
YoY Value Growth (2025-2026) 20.59%
Daily Average Transactions (2025) 66 Crore
Record Monthly Volume (March 2026) 2264 Crore (peak)
Record Monthly Value (March 2026) ₹29.53 Lakh Crore
Banks Live on UPI (As on March 2026) 703 Banks
Banks at Launch (April 2016) 21 Banks
First Month Transactions (April 2016) 373
Share of UPI in India's Digital Payments 85% (FY2025-26)
Share of Global Real-Time Volume 49% of World (2025)
Countries Accepting UPI 8 Countries
Annual Transaction Volume Growth (2016-2025)Fig 1: UPI Annual Transaction Volume in Crore|
Annual Transaction Value Growth (2016-2025)
Fig 2: UPI Annual Transaction Value in ₹ Lakh Crore
II. Monthly Performance, 2025
The Year 2025 marked a significant milestone in the growth trajectory of the Unified Payments Interface
(UPI). Monthly transaction volumes crossed 2,000 crore transactions for the first time in August 2025,
reaching 2,001 crore transactions, signalling a new scale of adoption. This momentum continued through
the remainder of the year, with December 2025 recording 2,163 crore transactions, the highest monthly
transaction volume in UPI’s decade-long journey.
Over the course of the calendar year 2025, UPI processed approximately 22,000 crore transactions in total,
translating into a daily average of about 60 crore transactions. This sustained high-frequency usage
reflects the deep penetration of digital payments across the country and the growing trust of citizens,
merchants, and businesses in India’s digital payments ecosystem.Fig 3: UPI Monthly Transaction Volume (2025)
III. Ecosystem Strength, Banks, Apps & Geography
Banks Live on UPI, Unprecedented Participation
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has witnessed a steady and broad-based expansion in institutional
participation since its launch. The number of banks live on UPI increased from 44 banks in FY 2016-17,
the first year of operations, to 703 banks by FY 2025-26. This onboarding covers public sector banks,
private banks, small finance banks, payment banks, and cooperative banks, enabling UPI's deep
geographic reach. Each bank functions as a Remitter PSP (processing outgoing transactions) and/or a
Beneficiary PSP (receiving funds), with NPCI monitoring performance metrics for all participants.
Fig 4: Number of Banks Live on UPI (FY2017–2026)
IV. Transaction Segmentation, P2P & P2M Analysis
An analysis of UPI transactions highlights a clear divergence between volume and value across payment
types. Person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions account for 63% of total transaction volume, reflecting
UPI’s extensive use for high-frequency, low-value retail payments. In contrast, person-to-person (P2P)
transactions dominate transaction value, contributing 71%, indicating their use for higher-ticket transfers
between individuals. This contrast underscores UPI’s dual role as a mass retail payments platform and a
trusted channel for larger-value fund transfers.Fig 7: UPI P2P vs P2M Split — Volume & Value (H1 2025, 106.36 Billion Transactions) | Source: NPCI
UPI Product Statistics
Transaction Distribution by Ticket Size, Micro-Payments Dominate
Fig 5: UPI P2P vs P2M Split, Volume & Value
In FY2026, UPI transactions totalling 24,162 crore reflected the platform’s deep integration into everyday
digital payment usage across the country. with particularly robust momentum in the merchant segment.
P2M transactions were largely driven by small-ticket payments, with 86% below ₹500, highlighting UPI’s
deep integration into routine retail and day-to-day commerce, even as higher-value transactions continued
to expand. P2P transactions also showed widespread usage for low-value transfers (59% below ₹500),
while a significant 41% of transactions above ₹500 reflects UPI’s growing versatility in facilitating both
regular personal payments and higher-value fund transfers.
Fig 6: UPI transaction distribution by ticket size
V. UPI on the World Stage
What began as a domestic payments innovation has today evolved into a global benchmark in digital
payments.
As of 2024, India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) accounts for nearly 49 % percent of the world’s
real-time payment transaction volume, a milestone recognized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
in its report in June 2025.
With over 66 crores transactions processed daily, UPI has surpassed global payment network, reinforcing
India’s position as the world leader in instant, secure, and inclusive digital payments.Country / Region Status
UAE Operational, accepted at major merchant points; used by Indian diaspora
Singapore Operational, linked with Singapore's PayNow for cross-border transfers
France Operational, expanding Indian tourist payment acceptance
Bhutan Operational, NPCI-enabled real-time cross-border payments
Nepal Operational, accepted across the nation
Sri Lanka Operational, Indian visitor and diaspora payments
Mauritius Operational, integrated with local payment infrastructure
Qatar Operational.
VI. The Road Ahead, UPI's Next Decade
The next decade of UPI is poised to drive even greater transformation in India’s digital payments
landscape. 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.
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