UPI Transaction Value Crosses $100 Bn For The 1st Time In October 2021

After two months of tepid rise in UPI transactions, the month of October saw a sharp growth both in terms of transactions and volume. For October 2021, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) reported 4.21 Bn UPI transactions, a 15.3% rise from September’s transaction volume of 3.65 Bn and an 18.6% rise from August’s 3.55 Bn transactions.

The surge in transaction volume can be attributed to the rise in online and offline shopping due to the ongoing festive season sales. 

In terms of transaction value, the month of October crossed the $100 Bn mark. According to the data provided by NPCI, the month of October saw a total transaction volume of INR 7,71,444 Cr, a 17.9% increase from the previous month’s INR 6,54,351 Cr and a 17% increase from August’s INR 6,39,116 Cr. 

In June and July, transaction volume grew by 10% and 15%, respectively, on a month-on-month basis, while transaction value had increased by 11% and 10%, respectively.

In June 2021, UPI crossed 2.8 Bn transactions worth INR 5.47 Lakh Cr and in July, it recorded 3.2 Bn transactions worth INR 6.06 Lakh Cr, up 10.8% month-on-month.

It is worth noting that the transaction value has increased by 79% from the start of the year. Transaction volume had increased by 83% from January 2021, when NPCI reported 2.30 Bn transactions. 

Since its launch in April 2016, UPI has managed to cross a billion transactions in October, 2019 and then crossed the two billion transactions within a year. 

It is worth noting that two of the fintech startups which offer UPI transactions are also heading for a domestic IPO – Paytm and MobiKwik for INR 18,300 Cr and INR 1,900 Cr respectively. 

Paytm and Flipkart-backed PhonePe dominate the market in terms of UPI transactions. Google Pay, MobiKwik, Amazon Pay, WhatsApp Pay are among other players in the competition. 

Digital payment transactions in the country have witnessed a significant rise over the past four years, ever since the launch of the unified payments interface (UPI). Pandemic has further spurred digital payment as it prevents physical contact. 

As per a report by ACI worldwide, India retained the top spot in digital transactions worldwide with 25.5 Bn real-time payments transactions, followed by China. South Korea is at the third spot with 6 Bn transactions, whereas Thailand stood at the fourth slot with 5.2 Bn digital transactions.