look news india
India’s indigenous digital payments network Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has written a new historic chapter of success in the first half (April to September) of the current financial year. According to official data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the total UPI transaction volume has recorded a strong annual growth of 27 percent during this 6-month period. From grocery stores, supermarkets, online shopping to person-to-person (P2P) money transfers across the country, UPI has now become an integral part of the everyday lives of Indians.
According to NPCI data, total transactions through UPI network in the first six months of the current financial year More than Rs 145 billion (14,500 crore) transactions were processed, which was recorded at 114 billion in the same period of the previous financial year.
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20% jump in transaction value: Talking about the total value of transactions (Processed Value), this figure during April-September ₹177 lakh crore Has reached. This is almost 20 percent more than the ₹148 lakh crore recorded in the same period of the last financial year.
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Daily average crosses 80 crores: On an average, more than 80.2 crore (802 million) successful UPI transactions are being recorded every day in the country, which is far larger than any real-time payment system in the world.
However, on a monthly basis, September saw a very slight improvement or technical correction in UPI volume and value:
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The total number of transactions in September was recorded at about 2,407 crores, which was about 1.8 percent less than in August.
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Similarly, the total transaction value in September declined by 1.5 percent to Rs 29.37 lakh crore.
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Market analysts believe that this slight decline is just a seasonal fluctuation, as the upcoming festive season of October and November (Dussehra, Diwali and Chhath) is set to create new all-time records of transactions due to increased purchases in e-commerce and retail markets.
This historic report comes at a time when important updates regarding merchant regulations are in the news in the digital payments ecosystem:
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Merchant Discount Rate (MDR): As per the guidelines, which will come into effect from October 15, a provision of 0.4 per cent MDR has been proposed on select UPI merchant payments above ₹2,000.
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No impact on general customers: NPCI and the government have clarified that this fee is entirely related to the accounts of traders and merchants. For general consumers, person-to-person (P2P) or QR code payments made to general shopkeepers will remain completely free and zero charges as before.
More than 400 banks and more than 200 fintech apps in the country are today connected to the UPI infrastructure. The expansion of Indian UPI in countries like France, UAE, Singapore, Mauritius and Sri Lanka proves that India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has now become a global benchmark. The accessibility of QR codes to small towns and rural areas has played a historic role in making the Indian economy formal, transparent and cashless.