UPI Completes 10 Years, Now World’s Largest Real-Time Payments System
UPI marks 10 years, now world’s largest real-time payments system with 24,162 crore annual transactions and presence in 11 countries.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) completes 10 years of operations on August 25, 2026. Launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the Reserve Bank of India’s oversight, UPI has become the backbone of India’s digital payments ecosystem.
Annual transaction volume grew from 1.78 crore in FY2016-17 to over 24,162 crore in FY2025-26, a nearly 13,000-fold rise. Transaction value rose from ₹0.07 lakh crore to around ₹314 lakh crore over the same period, up roughly 4,000-fold. The volume CAGR stands at 188%, and value CAGR at 155%.
In 2026, monthly volumes crossed 2,300 crore for the first time in May, then hit a record 2,366 crore transactions in July, worth ₹29.88 lakh crore. Daily average transactions for the year stand at 66 crore.
Bank participation expanded from 21 banks at launch in April 2016 to 741 banks as of July 2026. The first month of operations in August 2016 saw just 90,000 transactions.
Person-to-merchant (P2M) payments make up 63% of transaction volume, driven largely by small-ticket spending — 86% of P2M transactions are under ₹500. Person-to-person (P2P) transfers, by contrast, account for 71% of transaction value, with 41% of P2P transactions above ₹500.
UPI now accounts for 84% of India’s digital payments in FY2025-26 and nearly 49% of global real-time payment volume as of 2025, a figure the IMF has recognised. NPCI’s platform is currently live in 11 countries: the UAE, France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and the Maldives.
Data source: PIB
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) completes 10 years of operations on August 25, 2026. Launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the Reserve Bank of India’s oversight, UPI has become the backbone of India’s digital payments ecosystem.
Annual transaction volume grew from 1.78 crore in FY2016-17 to over 24,162 crore in FY2025-26, a nearly 13,000-fold rise. Transaction value rose from ₹0.07 lakh crore to around ₹314 lakh crore over the same period, up roughly 4,000-fold. The volume CAGR stands at 188%, and value CAGR at 155%.
In 2026, monthly volumes crossed 2,300 crore for the first time in May, then hit a record 2,366 crore transactions in July, worth ₹29.88 lakh crore. Daily average transactions for the year stand at 66 crore.
Bank participation expanded from 21 banks at launch in April 2016 to 741 banks as of July 2026. The first month of operations in August 2016 saw just 90,000 transactions.
Person-to-merchant (P2M) payments make up 63% of transaction volume, driven largely by small-ticket spending — 86% of P2M transactions are under ₹500. Person-to-person (P2P) transfers, by contrast, account for 71% of transaction value, with 41% of P2P transactions above ₹500.
UPI now accounts for 84% of India’s digital payments in FY2025-26 and nearly 49% of global real-time payment volume as of 2025, a figure the IMF has recognised. NPCI’s platform is currently live in 11 countries: the UAE, France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and the Maldives.
Data source: PIB
