Nine years after the launch of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the country now ranks first in terms of digital payments made worldwide. According to a report by the International Monetary Fund, India is now the global leader in fast, real-time digital payments.
Over the last nine years, the government of India and other public institutions have done everything in their power to promote the UPI payment network nationwide. As a result, the country now makes over 18 billion transactions monthly.
According to India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB), the platform recorded 18.39 billion transactions worth Rs 24.03 lakh crore, or approximately $279.4 billion, a 32% increase from June 2024. What makes the network truly extraordinary is that it has over 490 million users, along with 65 million merchant accounts, and connects 675 banks through a single digital framework, a feat unmatched by any other country in the world.
The Press Information Bureau of India said, “This shift has taken India away from cash and card-based payments and pushed it towards a digital-first economy. Millions of individuals and small businesses now rely on UPI for safe and low-cost transactions.”
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One of the primary reasons why UPI became so successful in India is the significant decline in data prices after 2018. This has allowed a vast number of Indian people and merchants to access high-speed internet at the lowest price in the world.
Now, the UPI’s footprint is poised to increase as India plans to launch it in various Asian and European countries, including the UAE, Singapore, France, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Mauritius.
