UPI logs record 3 bn transactions in July

The platform processed transactions worth Rs 6.06 trn in July, up 10.76 per cent from June.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the flagship payments platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), made a record in volume and value of transactions in July as digital payments rise in the pandemic.

UPI processed a record 3.24 billion transactions in July up 15.7 per cent from June when it processed 2.8 billion transactions.

In value terms, in July, the platform processed transactions worth Rs 6.06 trillion, up 10.76 per cent from June.

UPI was launched in 2016 and crossed 1 billion transactions for the first time in October 2019.

The next billion transactions came in just a year.

In October 2020, UPI processed more than 2 billion transactions for the first time.

Further, the journey from 2 billion transactions a month to 3 billion transactions was traversed in just 10 months’ time, indicating the incredible popularity of the UPI as a platform for retail digital payments among consumers.

Due to the second wave of the pandemic, UPI and other payments platforms saw a blip in transactions processed in April and May but recovered soon after as the economy was opened up.

The platform recorded 2.8 billion transactions worth Rs 5.47 trillion in June, up 10.6 per cent in volume terms and 11.56 per cent in value terms over May.

The increased timed with Covid-19 cases decreasing and states easing restrictions on business activity In May, UPI processed 2.53 billion transactions, down 4.16 per cent and 7.32 per cent from April and March, respectively.

In value terms, UPI saw transactions worth Rs 4.9 trillion, down 0.66 per cent and 3 per cent from April and March, respectively.

In March, UPI had recorded a high of 2.73 billion transactions amounting to Rs 5.04 trillion.

Immediate Payments Service (IMPS), another digital payment platform operated by NPCI, the umbrella entity for retail digital payments in the country, also saw a 15 per cent increase in volume of transactions to 349.76 million in July over June.

In value terms, transactions processed by IMPS in July was to the tune of Rs 3.09 trillion, up 8.80 per cent from June.

Experts have pointed out that the Covid19 pandemic has accelerated digital payment adoption in the country by 5-10 years.

The recently released Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) digital payments index (DPI) shows the index for March 2021 stood at 270.59 as against 207.94 of March 2020, thus signifying the rapid adoption of digital payments in the country since the onset of the pandemic.

Launched in January this year to indicate the extent of digitisation of payments across the country, the RBI-DPI index has been constructed with March 2018 as the base period, i.e. DPI score for March 2018 is set at 100.

In March 2019, the index stood at 153.47 and by September 2019, it rose to 173.49, followed by 207.94 in March 2020, and 217.74 in September 2020. RBI has said the index will be published on a semi-annual basis with a lag of 4 months.