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India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has achieved a significant milestone by likely surpassing 10 billion monthly transaction volumes in August. This accomplishment marks a remarkable step forward in India's digital payment landscape. Although official figures from the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) are awaited, recent data until August 29, 2023, indicates that volumes had already exceeded 9.88 billion.

Projected milestone achievement

Based on the ongoing rate of over 300 million daily transactions on UPI, it is expected that the total transaction volumes for August will comfortably exceed 10 billion, signifying a historic achievement for the payment platform.

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Continued growth trajectory

In the preceding month of July, UPI transactions had crossed 9.96 billion in volume. In terms of value, total transactions for July amounted to Rs 15.34 lakh crores. UPI, introduced in 2016, saw its first billion monthly transactions in October 2019. Subsequent milestones followed, with 2.1 billion transactions in October 2020, over 3 billion by July 2021, and reaching the 9 billion mark in May 2023. This latest leap to 10 billion transactions in August stands out as the fastest progression in UPI's history, achieved merely three months after crossing the 9 billion mark.

The ascendance of UPI

The popularity of UPI surged after the demonetization drive in 2016 and was further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which heightened the use of digital payments in India. UPI transactions now account for over 75 percent of all retail digital transactions, and this share is projected to grow even more.

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Exemplary growth rate

Recent data from July 2023 provided by the Reserve Bank of India demonstrates that UPI experienced the highest year-on-year growth in transaction volumes when compared to other payment systems such as Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC), and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). This underscores the exceptional expansion of UPI's influence in the realm of digital transactions.