Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions dipped slightly in June even as the real-time payments system sustained healthy year‑on‑year growth and expanded its global footprint, official data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) shows.
UPI transaction volume fell 2.1% month‑on‑month to 22.72 crore transactions in June from 23.20 crore in May. Transaction value also eased, dropping 3.3% to ₹28.92 lakh crore from ₹29.90 lakh crore a month earlier. Despite the marginal decline, average daily transaction counts rose 1.2% to 75.7 crore in June versus 74.8 crore in May, while average daily transaction value remained broadly stable at ₹96,405 crore (₹96,465 crore in May).
On an annual basis, UPI’s performance remains strong: transaction count climbed 23% from 18.4 crore a year ago, and transaction value increased roughly 20% from ₹24.03 lakh crore, underlining continued adoption and deeper penetration across India’s digital payments landscape.
“The small month‑on‑month contraction should be seen in perspective,” said a payments industry analyst. “UPI’s cumulative growth over the last several years — and its ability to handle large volumes with low friction — cements its position as the country’s default retail payments rail.”
The NPCI and the Indian government have also accelerated efforts to internationalise UPI. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Seychelles, India and Seychelles signed a memorandum of understanding to promote UPI usage in the archipelago. The MoU aims to facilitate deployment of UPI infrastructure in Seychelles and explore wider collaboration across the payments ecosystem.
UPI is already live or being piloted in several markets, including Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France and Mauritius, among others. Officials and industry participants say international rollouts are seen as a strategic priority to boost cross‑border digital payments and to position UPI as a low‑cost alternative to card rails for remittances and merchant acceptance overseas.
Market share trends among apps remained notable in May — with NPCI set to release app‑wise market share data for June later this month. In May, PhonePe continued to record the largest volume, reporting 1,073.5 crore transactions worth ₹14.67 lakh crore, though its market share slipped to 46.5% from 47.1% in April. Google Pay’s monthly transaction count rose 3.1% to 759.8 crore in May from 735.9 crore in April, but its share edged down to 32.9% from 33.5%.
Together, the two majors’ combined market share fell below the 80% threshold in May, reflecting a gradual diversification of the UPI ecosystem. Smaller players — including WhatsApp, MobiKwik and Kiwi — increased their cumulative market share to 4.3% in May from 2.4% in April, signalling renewed competition at the margins.
Regulators and market observers say competition benefits consumers and merchants through better pricing, product innovation and broader outreach to underserved segments. At the same time, they expect the payments landscape to remain highly concentrated, given the network effects and scale advantages enjoyed by incumbents.
As NPCI releases more granular data for June later this month, analysts will be watching which apps gained ground and whether recent policy and diplomatic pushes translate into meaningful overseas adoption for UPI.
