Clocking in 2.7 Billion transactions this March, India has totaled a transaction of INR 5 trillion using Unified Payment Interface (UPI), as per data received by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). In March 2021, 9 among the 53 UPI apps transacted amounts over INR 1,000 crore. These 9 apps are GooglePay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, Paytm, Yes Bank app, BHIM App, SBU and ICICI apps. The highest amongst these was PhonePe which transacted INR 2.3 Trillion across over a billion transactions. The new unicorn entrant Cred reported an INR 53.9 Billion. NPCI is yet to reveal who are the beneficiary banks and the top remitters. However, in March 2021, NPCI released a nine-page Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for third party application providers like Pytm, PhonePe etc.
UPI is regulated by the government of India as well as the central bank and allows instant transfer of money between two bank accounts. UPI is basically an advanced model of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), that is, it provides round–the-clock fund transfer to make cashless payments easier, faster, and smoother. It also caters to peer-to-peer collection request, making the entire process user friendly. The lockdown proved to be a thrust for UPI, as many people turned to digital transactions.