Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions fell 0.7% month-on-month in April, data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) showed.

Similarly, transaction value fell 1% month-on-month. UPI transactions stood at 13.3 billion in April, lower than the 13.4 billion in March.

The transaction value was INR 19.6 trillion in April; lower than INR 19.8 trillion in March. Transactions rose 50% year-on-year in terms of volume, and 40% in terms of value in April.

The end of a financial year traditionally sees a lot of transactions closer to the INR 1 lakh limit as a lot of merchants, business owners and individuals square off transactions leading to higher value and volume of transactions.

Volumes on the UPI platforms were at INR 12.1 billion, and transaction value was INR 18.3 trillion in February.

In FY24, the UPI platform processed 13,115 transactions aggregating to INR 199.29-lakh crore compared with 8,376 crore transactions worth INR 139-lakh crore in FY23. In terms of the total transactions processed during the year, the volume of transactions was up 56.6% whereas the value of transactions was 43.4% higher.

UPI transactions are expected to breach 100 crore transactions per day by FY27, as per a report by PwC India, which projects UPI to dominate the retail digital payments landscape, accounting for 90% of total transaction volumes over the next five years.

“The marginal decline in UPI volumes in April can be attributed to seasonality factors. March is a financial year-end and tends to see a spurt in transactions, particularly in the financial services sector,” said Ramakrishnan Ramamurthy, Executive Vice President- India, Worldline.

Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transactions rose 11% year-on-year to 550 million, while transaction value rose 14% year-on-year to INR 5.9 trillion. Transaction volume and transaction value were at 581 million and INR 6.4 trillion, respectively in March.

In April, Aadhar-enabled payment (AePS) services were at 94 million, lower than the 108 million in March. Transaction value were at INR 25,172 crore in April, lower than the INR 27,996 crore in March.

AePS transaction volume and value fell 7%, and 15% year-on-year, respectively in April.  

FASTag transactions rose 8% to 328 million in April. Transaction value rose 9% to INR 5,592 crore. Transaction volume and value were at 339 million, and INR 5,939 crore, respectively in March.

“With the adoption of digital commerce and digital payments continuing to grow I would expect the high growth trajectory to continue,” Ramamurthy said, adding that an increase in the adoption of RuPay credit cards on UPI and credit lines will help drive transactions further.

Despite these month-on-month fluctuations, the broader trajectory of India's digital payments landscape continues to exhibit resilience and innovation, with UPI leading the charge towards a more cashless economy.

Article Sources – NPCI data, ET