Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the flagship payments platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), recorded over two billion transactions for the second time in a row in November, indicating that the general population has taken to digital payments as more of a way of life.
The transactions, which had crossed the two billion mark in October, and amounted to Rs 3.86 trillion in all, rose to 2.21 billion in numbers and Rs 3.91 trillion in value in November.
Launched in 2016, the UPI crossed one billion transactions for the first time in October 2019. While it took UPI three years to reach a billion transactions in a month, the next billion came in just a year.
The UPI has rebounded sharply from its fall in April, when it recorded 0.99 billion transactions as the pandemic-induced lockdown forced people to cut spending. Since then, transactions have more than doubled, despite the economy witnessing a contraction in the first quarter.
Experts believe e-commerce platforms have contributed to this, especially in the festive season.
Many suggest transactions are now moving away from the card segment to UPI and other digital payment platforms. According to industry insiders, UPI has been growing in the P2P and person-to-merchant segments.
Since June, UPI has been recording new highs every month, with the pandemic helping accelerate its adoption. However, UPI is fundamentally for low ticket size transactions, with the average ticket size not more than Rs 200-300. Credit cards still have higher transaction payment value.
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) has also touched an all-time high in terms of transactions and their value. In November, IMPS clocked 339.11 million transactions worth Rs 2.76 trillion. In October, IMPS had reported 319 million transactions worth Rs 2.74 trillion.
On the other hand, Bharat Bill Payment System recorded 23.93 million transactions worth Rs 3,713.21 crore in November. And, FASTag saw transaction count increase to 124.88 million, up almost 300 per cent from last year.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU