Transactions through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) touched a new high, both in terms of volume and value in October, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India showed.
This was mainly due to higher spending during the festive season, which received a further boost due to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax 2.0 and income-tax relief that was given in the Union Budget, market participants said.
In terms of numbers, UPI transactions grew nearly 25% on year and touched 20.70 billion. In value, it was worth Rs 27.28 lakh crore, data showed.
“This festive season, UPI has been a key driver of convenience and commerce, from small purchases to larger business payments and supporting both consumers and local merchants,” Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD and CEO at PayNearby said.
On October 18, the unified payments interface (UPI) platform processed 754 million payments worth Rs 1.02 lakh crore, marking the highest single-day tally. During the three-day period between Dhanteras and Diwali, the average UPI volumes stood at 736.9 million — higher than 647.46 million in the corresponding period a month ago.
While UPI transactions surged to a record high in October, the rate of annual growth moderated to a 43-month low both in volume and value terms, which has been the trend since April 2022, when volumes grew 111.4% on year and the value of transactions rose 99.2% on year. Since then, the rate of growth on a year on year basis has been falling steadily.
The festive season clearly boosted usage, but the year-on-year deceleration suggests that the platform may be entering a more stable phase after years of rapid expansion, said industry experts.