Govt-Backed UPI Makes 18% Jump, Record 799.54 Mn Transactions In March

Indian government supported instant real time payment system Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has clocked in 799.54 Mn transactions in March 2019, according to the data released by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).  

This is an 18.5% jump from February when it had recorded 674.19 Mn transactions. The value of the transaction for March stood at INR 1.33 Lakh Cr which is 25% higher than INR 1.06 Lakh Cr in February.

The NPCI had launched UPI platform in 2016, allowing users to transfer money immediately using a mobile. The platform also allows a peer to peer money collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.

Last year, the NPCI also launched an updated version of the interface dubbed as UPI 2.0 which included additional features such as generating collect payment requests along with invoice/ bill attachment, a one-time mandate with block functionality, signed intent/quick response code and others.

With the growing digital payment sector, the adaptation of UPI has also been on the rise. Technology companies working across various sectors such as Ola, Uber, Amazon had enabled UPI-based online transactions since 2016 how the companies are now looking to float their own UPI handles. This will give a major boost to the adoption of UPI.

Increasing Competition Among Digital Payment Players

Online payment companies are gearing up their game to strengthen its footprint in the space. According to a report by Credit Suisse showed that the Indian digital payment sector is expected to grow five-fold to reach $1 Tn by 2023.

While several fintech players are looking to tap into this growing segment, the competition between Paytm, PhonePe and Google Pay continues to increase.

As of January, it was reported that Paytm had recorded 221 Mn transactions while PhonePe and Google Pay clocked nearly 220 Mn transactions each.

Recently, it was reported that Google Pay which was launched in India as Google Tez in 2017 had reached  $81 Bn transactions in March 2019 at an annualised run rate level.

Last week, ecommerce giant Flipkart has given in-principal approval to its online payment subsidiary PhonePe to be set up as a separate entity. Following this, PhonePe will be allowed to set up an independent board and raise fresh funding from external investors. This development may fuel the competition further.