Paytm Claims 600% Growth In UPI Transactions In Last Six Months

Digital payments company Paytm claimed that it was the largest contributor to the volume of UPI payments in India, recording a growth of 600% in transactions in the last six months. UPI, which stands for Unified Payments Interface, is a government-backed instant payments platform developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

According to data released by the NPCI, a total of 482.36 Mn UPI transactions were registered in October, of which Paytm claims to have contributed over 179 Mn payments.

In a media statement, Deepak Abbot, senior vice-president, Paytm, said, “It is encouraging to see the widespread adoption of Paytm BHIM UPI for various services such as mobile recharges, electricity and water bills, metro commute and also at the offline stores. We appreciate BHIM UPI, for its contribution and facilitation of seamless digital payments in the country. We will continue investing our efforts towards increasing its adoption.”

The Noida-based company also claimed to be a leader in P2P and merchant-led UPI transactions in terms of volume.

Paytm said that a majority of the payments on its platform in the last six months were made using the Paytm BHIM UPI, with mobile recharges, electricity and water bills and DTH recharges, among others witnessing an adoption rate as high as 50%.

The company is also engaged in enabling and promoting Paytm BHIM UPI for offline payments.  More than 6 Mn offline merchants out of its 9.5 Mn offline merchant base accept Paytm BHIM UPI for various purchases.

The company claims to have an over 80% share in all offline merchant transactions being conducted on UPI.

The Indian digital payments growth in the last few years has been largely attributed to the UPI, which has enabled easy and quick digital payments across the country.

Here are some interesting statistics about the digital payments sector:

• The government-run BHIM registered a slight drop in transactions in September to 16.3 Mn from 16.5 Mn in August
• Prepaid payment instruments or mobile wallets recorded 351.8 Mn transactions, up from 332.9 Mn in June and 350 Mn in May

With rivals such as  Google Tez, the Flipkart-backed PhonePe, and WhatsApp Pay (which is still in beta mode) eyeing a larger share of the market, Paytm is looking to establish itself in tier 2 and 3 segments to fuel future growth.

According to the Digital Payments – Trends, Issues, and Opportunities report by Niti Aayog, the policy think tank of the government, India’s digital payments industry is estimated to grow to $1 Tn by 2023.