Need to target 1 billion UPI transactions a day in 2-3 years: FM Sitharaman

New Delhi, April 28: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday underscored the need to target one billion Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions per day within the next 2–3 years, stressing on the importance of accelerating the internationalisation of UPI through the development of interoperable frameworks and expanding global payment acceptance.

In a meeting to review various aspects and the way ahead for the UPI ecosystem, Finance Minister encouraged officials to intensify efforts to onboard more users and merchants onto the UPI platform to broaden its reach and impact.

She urged all stakeholders to work collaboratively to address infrastructure gaps, enhance the end-user experience and cybersecurity architecture.

The Union Minister also directed NPCI to reinforce UPI’s robustness and prevent future disruptions.

Discussions focused on enhancing the resilience, scalability, and real-time monitoring of the UPI infrastructure to ensure uninterrupted service delivery and strengthen user trust.

UPI is witnessing significant growth. From FY 2019–20 to FY 2024–25, UPI transactions registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 72 per cent.

NPCI officials also informed Finance Minister that between FY 2021–22 and FY 2024–25, around 26 crore new users and 5.5 crore new merchants have been successfully onboarded onto the UPI platform. UPI now has approximately 45 crore annually active users.

In FY 2024-25, UPI transactions amounted to Rs 261 lakh crore — a 30 per cent YoY growth. Similarly, in terms of volume, 18,586 crore transactions took place in FY 2024-25 — a 42 per cent annual growth.

The UPI saw a 13.59 per cent increase (on-month) in transaction volume at 18.3 billion in the month of March, from 16.11 billion in February, as per the latest NPCI data. The month of March saw a record Rs 24.77 lakh crore worth UPI-based transactions, up 12.79 per cent from Rs 21.96 lakh crore in February.

On a daily basis, the UPI network recorded more than 590 million average transactions at Rs 79,910 crore daily transaction count, according to the NPCI data.

—IANS

Reader Comments

R

Rajesh K.

UPI has been a game changer! I haven't carried cash in months. The 1 billion/day target seems ambitious but achievable if they keep improving merchant adoption in smaller towns. 👏

P

Priya M.

Love how UPI has simplified payments, but can we talk about the transaction failures during peak hours? The infrastructure needs to keep up with this growth target.

A

Arjun S.

International UPI acceptance would be amazing! No more worrying about forex cards when traveling abroad. Hope they make this happen soon ✈️

S

Sunita R.

As a small shop owner, UPI has been great for business. But the 0.5-1% MDR charges add up. Would love to see some relief for merchants in the next phase.

V

Vikram J.

The growth numbers are impressive, but I hope they don't compromise on security in this race for scale. More transactions mean more attractive targets for fraudsters.

N

Neha P.

From vegetable vendors to big stores - everyone takes UPI now! Digital India is really happening. Next stop - 1 billion transactions! 🇮🇳

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.