UPI Transactions See Marginal Dip To 1,330 Cr In April

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions declined slightly, 1% month-on-month (MoM) to 13.30 Bn in April from 13.44 Bn in the previous month.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the transaction count surged 50%.

As per the National Payments Corporation of India’s data, the transaction volume in April stood at INR 19.64 Lakh Cr, down from March’s INR 19.78 Lakh Cr. However, it also zoomed 40% year-on-year.

Earlier this year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das attributed India’s significant share of nearly 46% in global digital transactions to the rising adoption of UPI.

“The share of UPI in digital payments has reached close to 80% in 2023. At a macro level, the volume of UPI transactions increased from 43 Cr in 2017 to 11,761 Cr in 2023,” he said.

The number of UPI transactions surged almost 60% YoY to a record 11,768 Cr in 2023, while the total value of UPI transactions also zoomed over 40% YoY to INR 182.84 Lakh Cr.

The Indian payment infrastructure has already made its way outside the country with its entry into multiple nations including Nepal, France, New Zealand, etc.

Both the NPCI and the government have taken measures to boost UPI usage. The NPCI, in particular, has been proactive in introducing new features and services to enhance UPI adoption. Its initiatives, such as UPI Lite, credit lines on UPI, UPI LITE X, Tap & Pay, Hello! UPI, and BillPay Connect, have been instrumental in this endeavor.

Currently, NPCI is exploring an interchange fee structure lower than that for a credit card transaction. These charges could range between 1% and 1.2% per transaction. Currently, the credit card transaction interchange fee is charged at 1.8%- 2%. It is pertinent to note that at present there is no defined interchange fee for credit lines on UPI by NPCI.

Moreover, NPCI is considering revising its decision to impose a 30% market share cap on payment players providing UPI services by the end of this year. The deadline for implementing this change remains unchanged, set for December 2024. This cap was initially proposed in 2022, urging existing players to limit their market share within a two-year timeframe.

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