UPI transactions grow in volume and value during the first half of the fiscal year

Unified Payments Interface transactions grew by 27 percent in volume to reach roughly 145 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year. Data released by the National Payments Corporation of India shows this is an increase from 114 billion transactions recorded during the same April to September quarter of the previous financial year.

Financial Value

Transaction values rose at a slightly lower rate of 20 percent to reach 177 lakh crore rupees compared to 148 lakh crore rupees during the first six months of the previous year. September transaction volume moderated by 1.7 percent to 24.07 billion from 24.5 billion in August. Transaction values on a month-on-month basis also declined by 1.5 percent to 29.37 lakh crore rupees against 29.82 lakh crore rupees in August.

Daily Averages

Industry watchers linked the monthly dip to the fact that August has 31 days while September has 30 days. Average daily transactions were actually higher in September at 802 million compared to 791 million in August. These figures arrive two weeks before the implementation of new merchant discount rate fees on high-value UPI payments for merchants.

Context

The National Payments Corporation of India acts as an umbrella organisation for retail payments and settlement systems across the country. Created as an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks' Association, it operates the payment network used for real-time transfers between individuals and merchants.