UPI on Track to Surpass Visa in Daily Transactions

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the flagship digital payment platform developed by NPCI, is now on the verge of surpassing global card giant Visa in terms of daily transaction volumes. With recent figures showing UPI consistently processing over 650 million transactions daily—exceeding Visa’s daily average of 640 million—India’s indigenous real-time payment system is poised to become the most widely used digital payment platform in the world by volume.

Why in News?

As of early June 2025, UPI’s daily transactions have overtaken Visa’s global daily average. Industry experts predict that by FY2029, UPI will process 439 billion transactions annually, over three times its FY24 volume. This shift signifies a major turning point in global finance, where a home-grown system from an emerging economy leads in digital payments volume.

Key Highlights

• UPI’s Current Daily Volume (June 2025): 648 million (surpassing Visa’s FY24 average of 640 million).
• UPI’s May 2025 Daily Average: Around 602 million.
• Visa’s FY24 Annual Volume: 233.8 billion transactions (~640 million/day).
• UPI’s FY29 Projected Annual Volume: 439 billion transactions.
• UPI’s Share in India’s Digital Retail Payments (FY29 forecast): Over 90%.

Driving Factors Behind UPI’s Surge

• Real-time, zero-cost payment model attracting both consumers and merchants.
• Wider rural adoption facilitated by increasing smartphone and internet penetration.
• Merchant integration at small and large scales.
• Innovations such as UPI-based credit and offline payments.
• Global expansion through cross-border corridor tie-ups.

Expert Insights

• Kunal Jhunjhunwala (airpay): UPI’s growth marks a “defining moment” where a domestic system challenges global incumbents.
• Raj P Narayanam (Zaggle): With current trends, UPI surpassing Visa annually is inevitable.
• Akshay Mehrotra (Fibe): UPI represents the future of frictionless digital payments.
• Deepak Chand Thakur (NPST): Growth driven by innovation, penetration, and infrastructure support.

Background – What is UPI?

• Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• Enables instant bank-to-bank transfers via mobile platforms.
• Supported by multiple apps (PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, etc.).
• No cost to users; built on IMPS architecture with 24×7 availability.