According to Statista, in 2022, India had 1,433 million population and around 622 million active internet users.
Moreover, in 2025, the number of active internet users is expected to surpass 900 million in the country. India has a population of 600 million youngsters, making it a country with the most millennials and GenZ on Earth!
There is no way that millennials and GenZ would keep their hands off of UPI, a quick, simple, and reliable source of conducting transactions.
What is UPI?
If you have been living under a rock or might have time travelled and are unaware of what UPI is, don’t worry! We are here to help.
On April 11th, 2016, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) came into existence.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), founded by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banking Association (IBA), created the former. It permits peer-to-peer interbank transfers between banks in real time between individuals and merchants. NPCI conducted a pilot launch with 21 member banks with Dr Raghuram G Rajan, Governor, RBI at Mumbai.
In 2016, Banks started uploading their UPI-enabled Apps on the Google Play store from August 25th onwards.
COVID-19: The Greatest Contributor To India’s UPI Usage
Digital Payments made a high jump during the COVID-19 Pandemic. With its “no-touch” policy, Digital payments and UPI were able to get a jump start. According to Bank Bazar, In September 2020, there were over 180 crore transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), compared to 161 crore transactions in August 2019. 2.79 crore transactions were made through the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) in September 2020. In September 2020, 2.31 crore transactions were made using Bharat Bill Pay.
According to data from bankers, big-ticket spending on hospitality and travel drastically decreased in 2020 as a result of the travel restrictions, although by September 2020, the volume of transactions on e-commerce websites made using credit and debit cards had reached pre-Covid levels.
UPI Payments Keep Rising
As Outlook India stated in their article on UPI payments, The number of transactions reached a record 7.82 billion in December and totalled Rs 12.82 trillion, also a record high, helping the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to end the year 2022 on a significant note.
According to figures released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the nation’s regulating body for retail digital payments, the volume of transactions rose by 7.12% in December compared to November, while the value of transactions gained by 7.73% during the same time.
In the calendar year 2022, about 74 billion transactions of Rs 125.94 trillion were made via UPI, according to NPCI data. In 2021, the platform processed over 38 billion transactions worth 71.54 trillion rupees.
Will UPI Transactions Break Barriers Between The Urban And The Rural?
By making it incredibly simple to receive payments by scanning the merchant’s QR Code from any UPI-linked mobile app, UPI significantly reduced the merchant’s pain points. The contactless, hassle-free, secure, and highly interoperable QR code-based payment method is free.
Also, any retailer may generate their QR code with a bank account, smartphone, and internet connection. The penetration of QR codes has expanded more than four times in the last two years and now stands at 173 Mn due to these advantages and ongoing encouragement from banks and fintech.
However, nearly 40% of Indians in Rural areas have no India about UPI and its working.
The government and even the business sector have developed a variety of technical breakthroughs that do not require an internet connection to ensure that digitalisation reaches the last mile in rural India. The Reserve Bank of India’s UPI123Pay programme is the most recent on the list.
These technical advancements include low-cost payment and cash solutions that provide convenience even for small-ticket transactions in locations where smartphone accessibility and internet connectivity are issues. Also, they eliminate the requirement for a debit or credit card, which is rarely utilised in rural regions due to ignorance or fear of fraud. Many of these services may be accessed through a feature phone using functions, like SMS and OTP.
What’s In Store For UPI Payments?
UPI transaction volume climbed from 0.45 crore in January 2017 to 804 crore in January 2023, according to data for January. During the same period, the value of UPI transactions rose from just Rs 1,700 crore to Rs 12.98 lakh crore. According to Shaktikanta Das, the RBI will adopt 75 villages to promote digital payments and transform them into villages that can accept them. These villages would then run digital payment awareness campaigns with the participation of their residents.
A significant milestone has been reached in terms of transaction volume and value for daily UPI payments. UPI will likely continue to gain popularity as a preferred payment method, as evidenced by the widespread conversation surrounding UPI payments and the RBI’s goal to encourage digital payments in rural areas.
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