Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s flagship real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), crossed a historic milestone by recording 20.01 billion transactions in August 2025. This is the first time monthly transactions have crossed the 20-billion mark, underlining the rapid expansion and deepening reliance on digital payments in India.
Key Highlights of August 2025 Performance
- Transaction Volume: 20.01 billion (YoY growth 34% from 14.9 billion in Aug 2024).
- Transaction Value: ₹24.85 lakh crore (YoY growth 21–24%).
- Daily Average:
- 645 million transactions
- Value: ₹80,177 crore
- Trend: Steady rise despite ban on real money gaming platforms.
Month-wise Trajectory in 2025
- June 2025: 18.40 billion transactions, ₹24.04 lakh crore.
- July 2025: 19.47 billion transactions, ₹25.08 lakh crore (628 million daily average).
- August 2025: 20.01 billion transactions, ₹24.85 lakh crore (645 million daily average).
Overall Pattern:
- Clear upward trajectory → increased adoption for both small-value and high-value transactions.
Structural Shifts in UPI Usage
Peer-to-Merchant (P2M) Transactions:
- Value share: 13% (Jun 2020) → 29% (Jul 2025)
- Volume share: 39% (2020) → 64% (2025)
- Indicates UPI’s role in expanding financial inclusion and merchant payments.
Merchant Categories:
- Almost 300 MCCs identified by NPCI (up from 29 earlier).
- Top 15 categories: 70% in volume, 47% in value.
- Groceries: 24.3% in volume, 8.8% in value.
- Debt Collection Agencies: 12.8% in value, 1.3% in volume.
Banking Ecosystem Insights (SBI Report)
Top Remitter Bank:
- State Bank of India (SBI): 5.2 billion transactions
- Share 3.4× larger than second-biggest remitter → PSBs dominate as senders.
Top Beneficiary Bank:
- Yes Bank: 8.0 billion transactions → private banks dominate as receivers.
Regional Distribution
- Top State: Maharashtra – 9.8% share.
- Karnataka: 5.5%
- Uttar Pradesh: 5.3% (only North Indian state in top 5).
Wider Digital Payments Context
- UPI vs Cash-in-Circulation (CIC):
- Monthly average UPI transactions: ₹24,554 billion
- Monthly average CIC growth: ₹193 billion (Apr–Jul 2025)
→ UPI expanding much faster than cash usage, showing India’s shift to digital economy.
Key Facts
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI): Launched in 2016 by NPCI; operates under RBI and IBA oversight.
- NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India): Established in 2008; umbrella body for retail payments.
- Popular UPI Apps: PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM UPI.
- UPI Milestones:
- 1 billion transactions → Oct 2019
- 10 billion transactions → Aug 2022
- 20 billion transactions → Aug 2025
- UPI Internationalisation: Linked with payment systems of UAE, Singapore, France, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Oman.
- P2M Growth Factor: Rise driven by QR code adoption, digital merchant onboarding, and government-backed incentives.
- Digital India Push: UPI is central to Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile (JAM) Trinity, strengthening financial inclusion.