UPI Gets Special Mention In RBI’s November Bulletin As October Transactions Breach 1.1K Cr Mark

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left no stone unturned to tout the state-backed unified payments interface (UPI) in its monthly bulletin for November 2023. 

The central bank noted that the UPI scaled the number of transactions by an additional 100 Cr to 1,100 Cr in October 2023 in just two months. 

Lauding the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for the achievement, the central bank attributed the milestone to the festive season, which led to the strong expansion of the digital payments ecosystem. 

“Buoyed by the festival season, digital payments witnessed a strong expansion in October 2023, with growth (YoY) under major payment modes outpacing the increase in the previous month. The UPI added another billion to reach 11 Bn transactions in a short span of two months, the quickest addition of a billion, to date,” the RBI said in its monthly bulletin. 

The UPI crossed the 1,100 Cr monthly transaction mark for the first time in October this year, just two months after it clocked 1,000 Cr transactions for the first time. 

Meanwhile, the central bank also highlighted that the initial public offering (IPO) facility available through the UPI nearly doubled in mandates in October 2023 compared to the year-ago period. 

On overall digital payments, it added that credit cards continued their ‘ascent’ on the back of offerings such as cashback, reward points, contactless cards, and UPI-linked credit cards. The RBI also expects the recent extension of the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) to B2B clients to bolster the usage of digital payments in the country. 

The RBI also touted a slew of steps taken to streamline the digital payments ecosystem and push innovation in the space. 

“…To encourage innovation, the RBI has introduced the fifth cohort (theme-neutral) under the regulatory sandbox, along with the successful exit of all entities from the third sandbox cohort focused on ‘MSME Lending’. Consistent policy support and the expanding digital payment landscape are anticipated to significantly reduce reliance on usage of cash in the coming years,” the bulletin added. 

The apex bank also expects the bulk of growth in the digital payments space to come on the back of C2B (consumer-to-business) payments, followed by consumer-to-consumer and B2B transactions.

The hefty monthly growth is part of NPCI’s strategy to increase the number of monthly transactions to 10,000 Cr in the short term. To push this, the NPCI has launched a slew of new and innovative products, ranging from conversational payments on the UPI to offline digital transactions. 

Besides, both the central bank and the NPCI have been actively pitching the UPI to countries globally. The result has been that the state-backed payments interface has already been unveiled in countries such as France, Bhutan, Nepal, UAE, and Canada. Alongside, talks are on to expand the payments infrastructure to New Zealand, several South American and African countries