The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will complete 10 years of operations on August 25, marking a decade of transformation in India’s digital payments ecosystem and emerging as a globally recognised real-time payments platform.
Launched on August 25, 2016, by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI has become a key pillar of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure and a major driver of financial inclusion.
According to data released by the government, annual UPI transaction volume increased from 1.78 crore in FY 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in FY 2025-26, registering an almost 13,000-fold increase.
The value of transactions also rose from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY 2016-17 to around ₹314 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, marking an increase of more than 4,000 times.
UPI enables interoperable, real-time peer-to-peer (P2P) and peer-to-merchant (P2M) transactions through a single platform and has increasingly become an integral part of everyday payments across the country.
The government said the platform’s scale, reliability and interoperability have received international recognition, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recognising UPI as the world’s largest real-time payment system by transaction volume.
UPI records new highs
UPI’s growth continued through 2026, with monthly transaction volumes crossing 2,300 crore for the first time in May, when 2,320 crore transactions were recorded.
The platform registered another record in July 2026, processing 2,366 crore transactions, the highest monthly volume in its decade-long journey. The monthly transaction value stood at ₹29.88 lakh crore.
UPI currently processes an average of around 66 crore transactions a day.
In FY 2025-26, UPI accounted for 84 per cent of India’s digital payment transactions, according to the government data.
Growing ecosystem
The UPI ecosystem has also expanded significantly over the past decade.
The number of banks live on UPI increased from 44 in FY 2016-17 to 703 in FY 2025-26, covering public sector banks, private banks, small finance banks, payment banks and cooperative banks.
As of July 2026, 741 banks were live on the UPI platform.
The expansion of participating banks has helped deepen UPI’s geographic reach and broaden access to digital financial services across the country.
P2P and merchant payments
The pattern of UPI usage reflects its dual role as a platform for both everyday retail payments and larger fund transfers.
Person-to-merchant transactions account for 63 per cent of the total transaction volume, reflecting the extensive use of UPI for frequent, low-value retail payments.
In terms of transaction value, however, person-to-person payments account for 71 per cent, indicating the significant role of UPI in higher-value transfers between individuals.
Small-value payments continue to dominate merchant transactions. In FY 2025-26, 86 per cent of P2M transactions were below ₹500.
Among P2P transactions, 59 per cent were below ₹500, while 41 per cent were above ₹500, highlighting the platform’s growing versatility.
UPI expands global footprint
What began as a domestic digital payments platform has increasingly gained an international presence.
As of 2025, UPI accounted for nearly 49 per cent of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, according to the government.
UPI is currently operational in 11 countries — the United Arab Emirates, France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and the Maldives.
The government said UPI’s international expansion has positioned it as a platform for cross-border digital payments while strengthening India’s leadership in digital public infrastructure.
Looking ahead
As UPI enters its second decade, the government said the focus will remain on bringing more users and merchants into the ecosystem, promoting innovation and strengthening India’s digital payments infrastructure.
The continued expansion of UPI is expected to support greater financial inclusion and further strengthen India’s position as a global leader in scalable, interoperable and inclusive digital payments.
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