UPI Sets a New Record in Digital Payments...

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is completing a decade since its launch on August 25, 2016. According to the Union Finance Ministry, UPI transaction volumes have surged nearly 13,000 times, from 1.78 crore transactions in 2016-17 to 24,162 crore in 2025-26. During the same period, the transaction value rose nearly 4,000 times, from ₹7,000 crore to ₹314 lakh crore.

Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India, UPI has recorded remarkable growth in both transaction volume and value. The year 2026 has emerged as another milestone, with monthly transactions crossing 2,300 crore for the first time in May, reaching 2,320 crore. In July, the number increased further to 2,366 crore transactions.

UPI has also expanded significantly in terms of participation and international usage. The number of banks connected to the platform has risen from 44 in 2016-17 to 703 currently. UPI is now available in 11 countries, including the UAE, France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and the Maldives. The IMF estimates that UPI accounted for nearly 49% of global real time payment transaction volume in 2025.