UPI transactions cross mammoth 10 billion mark, PM Modi applauds

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the nation as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions crossed the 10 billion mark in August.

“This is exceptional news! It is a testament to the people of India embracing digital progress and a tribute to their skills. May this trend continue in the times to come,” Modi said on X (formerly Twitter).

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which took to X to announce the acheievment said, “It’s 10 Billion+ transactions in August`23! Make seamless payments from your mobile in real-time with UPI.”

NPCI is an umbrella organisation for all retail payments in the country.

While the UPI transactions touched 10.58 billion in August, the amount dealt during the month was Rs 15.76 lakh crore. There has been a 61 per cent year on year growth on transaction count, while in terms of transaction amount, there has been a 47 per cent year on year growth between August 2022 and August 2023.

Earlier, the Prime Minister said that UPI along with RuPay is not just low cost with highly secure technologies they have become India’s identity in the world. He noted that India was “happy to share” the experience with other countries. Several other countries including many categorised as developed economies are also looking at establishing their own digital transaction mode much on the line of UPI.

The push to make UPI global has picked up steam after the sudden disruption in SWIFT in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war last year.

UPI transactions are only set to rise with the rapid increase in penetration of mobile phones. The rollout of 5G technology is set to further boost access to Internet driving digital transactions.

The Economic Survey this year pointed out that in 2021-22, payments through the UPI accounted for more than 50 per cent of total 8,840 digital transactions.

The Survey also highlighted that between 2019 and 2022, UPI transactions rose 121 per cent in terms of value and 115 per cent in terms of volume.

UPI, launched in 2016, is now the most accepted form of transaction in India, beating the use of plastic money.

Also read: UPI payments through conversations with AI system to be rolled out soon, says RBI