Context:

• On 11 April 2026, India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) completed 10 years of successful operations.

Key Achievements:

• During this period, UPI transaction volume increased by over 12,000 times, and transaction value rose by more than 4,000 times.
• According to analytics firm Traxcn, UPI recorded 218.98 billion transactions in FY26, with a total value of ₹285 lakh crore.
• In FY17, this figure stood at 17.86 million transactions with a value of ₹6,952 crore.
• In the initial years, transactions grew gradually—reaching 915 million in FY18 and 5.39 billion in FY19.
• In FY20, transactions reached 12.52 billion, with a value exceeding ₹21 lakh crore.
• During the pandemic years, UPI usage surged—22.33 billion transactions in FY21 and 45.97 billion in FY22, doubling again to 83.75 billion in FY23.
• UPI recorded 130.13 billion transactions in FY24 and 185.87 billion in FY25.
• In 2025, merchant adoption expanded—UPI QR codes increased by 15% to 731.3 million.
• The number of Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals also grew by 15%, reaching 11.48 million.
• As per NPCI data, in March 2026, UPI recorded its highest-ever monthly transactions since launch.
• UPI processed 22.64 billion transactions in March, significantly higher than 20.39 billion in February.
• This also surpassed the previous high of 21.70 billion transactions recorded in January.
• On a yearly basis, transaction volume grew by 24%.
• UPI live in 8 countries: UPI is now operational in over 8 countries, boosting cross-border remittances and financial inclusion.
• Countries accepting UPI: UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius, and Qatar.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

• Launch: 11 April 2016, by then RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan
• Developed by: National Payments Corporation of India
• Regulator: Reserve Bank of India
• Objective: To provide instant, secure, and unified banking transactions on mobile platforms
• Transaction Types: Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M)
• Nature of Transactions: 24×7 instant money transfer (interbank), QR code-based payments
• Key Feature: Payments using Virtual Payment Address (VPA) or mobile number
• Popular UPI Apps: PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM, Amazon Pay
• BHIM App: A UPI-based government app developed by NPCI (launched on 30 December 2016)