India’s Digital Revolution: UPI Ranked No.1 Globally with Record 18 Billion Monthly Transactions

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recognized India as a global leader in faster payments in its recent report. At the center of this revolution is India's own Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which has changed the definition of digital transactions in the country. UPI has set a new record by transacting more than Rs 24 lakh crore through 18.39 billion transactions in June 2025.

Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the platform today powers 85% of India’s digital payments.

UPI's phenomenal success in numbers

UPI's phenomenal success can be clearly seen in numbers. Its growth has been phenomenal, with the number of transactions growing by a massive 32% in just one year; from 13.88 billion transactions in June 2024 to 18.39 billion in June 2025. Currently, the system serves 491 million people and 65 million merchants and successfully integrates 675 banks on a single platform, allowing users to make payments with ease. The biggest proof of UPI's success is its global share, where it drives nearly 50% of the total real-time digital payments happening worldwide.

UPI has surpassed Visa to become the king of the world.

In terms of daily transactions, UPI has also surpassed Visa, the world's largest payment company. While Visa processes 639 million transactions per day, UPI is now handling more than 640 million transactions every day. This achievement is also very special because UPI has achieved this unmatched position within only nine years of its launch.

UPI's global appeal

The UPI success story is now resonating beyond India's borders, reflecting its growing global appeal. The payment system is already available in seven countries - UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France and Mauritius. Its entry into France is a special milestone as it marks UPI's first foray into Europe. To further expand its global reach, India is now also working to make UPI a standard payment system in the BRICS group.

How has it changed the life of the common man?

UPI has made digital payments a part of everyday life in India. It has made transactions easy, fast and secure. Now people can send money instantly anytime, anywhere, 24x7 without having to wait for the bank to open. It has become possible to manage all your bank accounts from a single mobile app, making financial management extremely simple. Most importantly, it has enhanced privacy and security; now there is no need to share bank details for payments, only a UPI ID is enough and two-step authentication makes it even more secure. Moreover, the facility of making payments by scanning QR codes has made transactions incredibly fast and convenient everywhere, from small shopkeepers to large showrooms.

Strong digital foundation behind the success

The rise of UPI is no coincidence, but the result of years of planning and investment in a strong digital infrastructure. There are three major pillars behind this success. First, the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, under which more than 55.83 crore bank accounts were opened by July 9, 2025, connecting crores of people in the country to the formal banking system for the first time. Second, Aadhaar, which provided a secure digital identity to more than 142 crore citizens by June 30, 2025, making it crucial for online verification. And third, affordable connectivity, where the rapid expansion of 5G in India and a sharp decline in the cost of internet data (from Rs 308 per GB in 2014 to only Rs 9.34 in 2022) made digital services accessible to crores of people. Together, these three formed the solid foundation on which the magnificent edifice of UPI's success was built.

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