Categories: Economy

UPI Transactions Grow 7.7% To 730 Cr in October

Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) using Unified Payments Interface BHIM-UPI recorded a new high, transactions rose by 7.7 per cent in October to 730 crore(7.3 Billion). The total value for the month stood at more than ₹12.11 lakh crore. In September, UPI transactions stood at 678 crore with a total value of ₹11.16 lakh crore.

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About Other Payment Services:

The number of instant interbank fund transfer through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) in October stood at 48.25 crore and the value was at Rs 4.66 lakh crore. In terms of transactions, it was higher by 4.3 per cent compared to September, according to the monthly data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) released.

The NETC FASTag, which facilitates automatic toll collection at NHAI’s toll booths across the country, registered a 9.3 per cent growth in the number of transactions compared to 28.3 crore in September. The corresponding value of transactions stood at Rs 4,451.87 crore in October as against Rs 4,244.76 crore in September.

While the Aadhaar card-enabled AePS, which facilitates easy, quick and safe banking transactions, increased to 11.77 crore in October compared to 10.27 crore in previous month. The value of AePS transactions rose to Rs 31,112.63 crore from Rs 26,665.58 crore.

What The MEITY Said:

The figures assume significance as it is indicative of the trend in the country that people are increasingly adopting digital modes of cashless payments as a preferred means of transactions, officials in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), said.

According to Meity, the digital payment landscape in India has undergone a vast transformation. Indian consumers have displayed great affinity to digital technology, leading to rapid growth in digital payment infrastructure according to the ministry sources.

The Expectations:

Digital payments have reached an inflexion point and are expected to triple to $10 trillion by 2026 from $3 trillion today according to a recent report. According to a joint report by the Boston Consulting Group and Phone Pe, as a result of this unprecedented growth, digital payments will constitute nearly 65% of all payments by 2026. This implies that 2 out of 3 transactions will be digital, the report estimates.

Govt Efforts:

The Government of India has been taking several measures to encourage digital payments in the country. As part of the ‘Digital India’ campaign, it has been aiming to create a ‘digitally empowered’ economy that is ‘Faceless, Paperless, Cashless’. There are various types and modes of digital payments. Some of these include the use of debit/credit cards, internet banking, mobile wallets, digital payment apps, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Bank prepaid cards, mobile banking, etc.

About NPCI:

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
Considering the utility nature of the objects of NPCI, it has been incorporated as a “Not for Profit” Company under the provisions of Section 25 of Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013), with an intention to provide infrastructure to the entire Banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.

Objectives of NPCI:

To offer improved infrastructure for the entire banking industry to create a robust physical and digital payment and settlement system.
To simplify, merge and incorporate various payment systems with varying standards of coverage into a single national standard uniform and business process for all retail money transactions.
To design and promote an effective financing process or system that saves time and cost for individuals who make retail transactions on a daily basis.