UPI completes 10 years of digital payments, sees 13,000-fold surge in transaction volume, 4,000-fold rise in value

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on 25 August, 2016, by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has completed 10 years of transforming digital payments in India.

UPI has emerged as the backbone of India’s digital payments ecosystem and a critical driver of financial inclusion, the Union Finance Ministry said.

Over the decade, UPI’s annual transaction volume expanded from 1.78 crore transactions in FY17 to over 24,162 crore transactions in FY26, representing a 13,000‑fold surge in transaction volume. 

Transaction value rose sharply from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY17 to approximately ₹314 lakh crore in FY26, translating into a more than 4,000‑fold increase in transaction value, the ministry said.

UPI is currently operational in 11 countries. 

“UPI has emerged as one of the most successful pillars of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), providing an interoperable, real-time payments platform that enables seamless peer-to-peer and peer-to-merchant transactions through a single application,” it said.

“Today, it is the preferred mode of payment for millions of users, transforming the way India transacts. By bridging the digital divide, advancing financial inclusion, and expanding access to digital financial services, UPI has empowered individuals and communities across the country while driving broad-based economic participation,” it added.

“The unprecedented scale, reliability, and interoperability achieved by UPI have received global recognition, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledging it as the world’s largest real‑time payment system by transaction volume, underscoring India’s leadership in building scalable, inclusive, and innovative digital public infrastructure,” it further said.