The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions experienced a slight decline in both volume and value in February 2024 compared to January. According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), there were 1,210 Cr transactions in February, down from 1,220 Cr in January. Similarly, the value of transactions dropped to INR 18.28 Lakh Cr from INR 18.41 Lakh Cr.
Year-on-Year Growth:
Despite the month-on-month decrease, UPI transactions demonstrated significant year-on-year growth, with a 61% increase in volume and a 48% increase in transaction value.
NPCI's Vision:
The NPCI aims to achieve 2 Bn transactions per day by 2030. To facilitate this goal, it introduced several UPI innovations during the Global Fintech Fest 2023. These innovations include access to credit lines, offline NFC-brd payment options like UPI LITE X and Tap & Pay, and conversational payment solutions like Hello! UPI and BillPay Connect.
RBI's Support:
Last year, the Reserve Bank of India allowed scheduled commercial banks to offer credit lines to their customers through UPI. This move enables payments through a pre-sanctioned credit line issued by a scheduled commercial bank to individuals, with the prior consent of the individual customer, for transactions using the UPI system.
Partnerships:
PayU recently announced its collaboration with the NPCI to enable merchants to accept digital payments via credit line, further expanding the reach of digital transactions in India.
Growth in 2023:
In 2023, UPI transactions witnessed remarkable growth, with the number of transactions surging almost 60% year-on-year to a record 11,768 Cr. The total value of UPI transactions also increased by over 40% year-on-year, reaching INR 182.84 Lakh Cr.
Leading Players:
Fintech major PhonePe maintained its lead in the app race, both in terms of the total number and value of UPI transactions, during the first 11 months of 2023, followed by Google Pay and Paytm.
