Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, May 31: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has further solidified its hold on India’s digital payments ecosystem, capturing an impressive 83.7% of the total transaction volume in FY25—up from 79.7% a year earlier, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) annual report.

The year saw UPI facilitate a staggering 185.8 billion transactions, reflecting a robust 41% growth over FY24. The total value of UPI transactions surged from Rs 200 lakh crore to Rs 261 lakh crore year-on-year, underscoring its expanding footprint.

“The success of UPI has positioned India as a global leader, accounting for 48.5% of real-time payments worldwide,” the RBI highlighted in its report.

Overall, India’s digital payments—covering systems such as cards, PPIs, and UPI—grew 35% in volume to reach 221.9 billion transactions in FY25, up from 164.4 billion a year ago. In terms of value, digital payments increased by nearly 18% to ?2,862 lakh crore.

Credit card usage also saw a steady uptick, climbing to 4.7 billion transactions from 3.5 billion in FY24. In contrast, debit card transactions plunged 29.5% to 1.6 billion. Digital payments now account for 99.9% of non-cash retail transactions, up from 99.8% the previous year.

Looking ahead, the RBI reaffirmed its goal to expand UPI’s reach to 20 countries by 2028–29. UPI’s global footprint already includes Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the UAE, enabling Indian travellers to make seamless payments using their homegrown UPI apps.

While the total number of fraud cases fell, the overall fraud amount skyrocketed to Rs 36,014 crore in FY25, primarily driven by advances-related fraud. Conversely, card and internet fraud incidents dropped significantly from 29,802 cases in FY24 to 13,516 in FY25.