UPI QR codes record 91.5 pc surge to 657.9 million, credit card growth slows

The surge in UPI QR codes was accompanied by a slowdown in the growth rate of credit card transactions to 7.94 per cent year-on-year, while debit card additions registered a mere 2.7 per cent growth to 991 million.

The growth in the number of UPI QR codes has been accelerating with the increasing deployment by platforms like Google Pay, Paytm, and PhonePe.

The number of banks going live on UPI continues to increase, and the total touched 668 in April, which is expected to increase the value of such transactions, according to bank officials.

March saw a record Rs 24.77 lakh crore in UPI transactions, marking a 25 per cent increase in value and a 36 per cent increase in volume compared to the previous year.

UPI has become the dominant method for digital transactions in India. Nearly four out of five digital payments in the country were conducted on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the financial year 2024 (FY24), according to the Reserve Bank of India's annual report.

UPI's share, compared to the cumulative volume of digital payments in the country, has grown steadily from 73.4 per cent in FY23 to 79.7 per cent in FY24. In FY20, UPI's share as compared to the volume of total digital payments in India was pegged at 36.8 per cent.

The RBI is actively promoting digital payments through various initiatives, including the "Har Payment Digital" campaign, which aims to make every person in India aware of digital payments.

RBI also allows flexibility in revising transaction limits for UPI in-person merchant payments, allowing NPCI to adjust limits based on user needs, with safeguards in place which has made the mode of payment more convenient.