UPI instant payments network grows from 1.78 cr annual transactions to 24,162 crore
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India has experienced massive growth over the last decade, reaching over 24,000 crore annual transactions by 2025-26. The platform has become a central pillar of India's digital public infrastructure, facilitating both peer-to-peer and merchant payments.
Why it matters
UPI's rapid expansion highlights the successful digitization of a major economy's financial system and its role in promoting financial inclusion.
Ten years ago, instant digital payments through a common platform were just taking off in India. Today, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processes more than 66 crore transactions every day, becoming a central part of the country's digital payments ecosystem.Launched on August 25, 2016, UPI recorded 1.78 crore transactions in 2016-17. The annual volume had risen to more than 24,162 crore by 2025-26, representing an almost 13,000-fold jump, the finance ministry said.The value handled through the platform grew at a similarly rapid pace. Transactions worth Rs 0.07 lakh crore were recorded in 2016-17, compared with around Rs 314 lakh crore in 2025-26, an increase of more than 4,000 times.UPI was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).Its growth has also been reflected in the number of banks participating in the network.
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