Prime Minister invites citizens to share their UPI experiences as UPI completes a decade
Launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the platform has grown from an initial pilot of 21 banks into an indispensable financial highway. According to data released by the government, UPI processed over 24,162 crore transactions valued at approximately ₹314 lakh crore in the 2025–26 financial year. That represents an almost 13,000-fold jump in annual volume and a 4,000-fold rise in value compared to its inaugural year, when it recorded just 1.78 crore transactions worth ₹0.07 lakh crore.
The payment rail now commands an 84 percent share of all digital transactions across India, averaging roughly 66 crore payments every day. Growth hit record highs in July 2026, when monthly transactions peaked at 2,366 crore, clearing nearly ₹30 lakh crore in a single 31-day window. The institutional network backing the system has expanded in tandem, with 741 commercial, regional, and cooperative lenders live on the interface.
Transaction patterns over the decade highlight how deeply embedded the platform has become in daily routines. Person-to-merchant (P2M) payments make up 63 percent of overall volume, heavily driven by micro-commerce where 86 percent of bills are under ₹500. Conversely, person-to-person (P2P) transfers account for 71 percent of the network’s total monetary value, establishing UPI as the primary channel for high-ticket individual transfers and settlements alongside street-level retail.
Beyond domestic borders, the system has evolved into a global benchmark for digital public infrastructure. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) credits UPI with handling nearly 49 percent of all global real-time payment volumes. The platform is currently operational across 11 international destinations—including the UAE, Singapore, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece, and the Maldives—enabling seamless cross-border retail acceptance.
As UPI enters its second decade, policymakers and banking authorities are focusing on broadening rural access, scaling credit-linked rails, and expanding cross-border payment corridors across major global financial hubs.
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