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Tag: UPI Transactions

  • UPI Transaction Limit Raised to INR 10 Lakh Per Day for Select Payments: Details Here

    The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has increased the per-transaction ceiling to INR 5 lakh in anticipation of the September 15 income tax return (ITR) filing deadline, but only for firms that fit under tax payment-aligned categories. Additionally, NPCI has raised the 24-hour aggregate transaction limit and per-transaction limit for 12 additional categories. The effective date of these modifications is September 15, 2025.

    The circular states that all issuing banks are required to ensure that these 24-hour cumulative restrictions, or the 24-hour total transaction limit, “are kept at their end.” Nevertheless, NPCI has allowed member banks the freedom to establish their own internal limits in accordance with their own regulations, even if it has set these overall transaction ceilings. Only P2M (person to merchant) transactions with approved merchants will be subject to these restrictions.

    The P2P (person-to-person) transaction restrictions of INR 1 lakh per day would not alter, according to NPCI. All banks, apps, and PSPs (Payment Service Providers) are required by the circular to put these increased restrictions into effect by September 15, 2025.

    Capital Market & Insurance Payments Now Allowed Up to INR 5 Lakh Per Transaction

    The transaction limits for capital markets and insurance have been increased by NPCI for a period of 24 hours. This includes both the aggregate transaction and the per-transaction limits. Prior to this, a person could spend up to INR 2 lakh per transaction to pay their insurance premiums or engage in the stock market.

    Beginning on September 15, one can pay verified merchants up to INR 5 lakh per transaction for capital markets or insurance. He can also pay up to INR 10 lakh in a 24-hour period. It should be noted that the INR 5 lakh transaction limit for IPO bids made through UPI remains unchanged and is not covered by the enlarged limit scope of capital market-related transactions. A 2020 NPCI circular states that transactions to AMCs, broking companies, mutual funds, and other like organisations fall under the capital market category.

    EMD Payments and Credit Card UPI Transactions See Higher Caps

    The restrictions for tax payments through the government e-Market Place (EMD Payments), also known as merchant category code (MCC) 9311, have also been increased to INR 5 lakh per transaction. Transactions up to INR 10 lakh can now be completed in a day with approved merchants in this category. Additionally, the 24-hour limit has been raised to INR 6 lakh, and the per-transaction limit for credit card payments has increased significantly from INR 2 lakh to INR 5 lakh.

    Quick
    Shots

    •Per-transaction ceiling increased to
    ₹5 lakh for eligible tax-aligned categories.

    •Only for P2M (person-to-merchant)
    transactions with approved merchants.

    •Person-to-person daily limit remains
    INR 1 lakh.

    •Limit raised from INR 2 lakh to INR 5
    lakh per transaction and INR 10 lakh per day.

  • UPI Hits Record High: 18.68 Billion Transactions in May, Up 4.4% MoM

    The number of transactions using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) increased 4.4% from 17.89 billion in April to 18.68 billion in May, setting a new record.

     There were 33% more trades than the previous year. UPI transactions experienced a 2.2% month-over-month (MoM) decline in April. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) reported that UPI transactions totalled INR 25.14 Lakh Cr in May, a 5% increase from INR 23.95 Lakh Cr in April.

    Compared to 596 million in April, the average daily transaction count increased to 602 million in the reviewed month. In addition, INR 81,106 Cr was the average daily transaction value.

    PhonePe and Google Pay Lead the Race

    PhonePe and Google Pay are anticipated to remain the top two UPI players, as they have for years, even though the NPCI has not yet released the app-by-app data for the month of May.

    Together, the two companies control around 80% of the UPI ecosystem’s market share, with Paytm coming in second with a roughly 7% stake in recent months. Of the 17.89 billion transactions in total, PhonePe logged 8.36 billion in April.

    6.48 billion transactions of INR 8.42 lakh crore were registered by Google Pay. The competition is fierce outside of the top three players. Navi, CRED, super.money, Amazon Pay, and FamApp are just a few of the companies that keep fluctuating in the rankings.

    Notably, over the past few years, the NPCI has been aiming to limit third-party application providers’ (TPAPs’) market share in the UPI ecosystem to 30%. The idea has, however, been repeatedly delayed; the most recent one was moved to December 31, 2026.

    Industry Requesting for Zero Merchant Discount Rate

    The industry is increasingly calling for zero merchant discount rates (MDR) on these transactions, even as UPI is expanding. Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a letter earlier this year from the Payment Councils of India (PCI) urging him to reevaluate the 0% MDR policy for RuPay and UPI transactions.

    When banks or payment service providers handle digital transactions through UPI, they charge merchants a fee known as the MDR. To encourage digital payments across the nation, the price was reduced to zero in 2020. For large merchants exclusively, the PCI suggested charging an MDR of 0.30% for UPI.

    The Startup Policy Forum (SPF) also endorsed the initiative. The payments sector has long maintained that the zero MDR regime prevents them from making money off of their services, which has an impact on infrastructure upgrade efforts.

    The administration hasn’t made a decision on the subject yet, though. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm, recently stated that the implementation of MDR on UPI payments might lead to more competition.

  • In December, UPI Transactions Reached a Record 16.73 Billion

    The volume of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions increased by 8% month over month to reach 16.73 billion in December, the largest amount the digital system has seen since becoming live in April 2016. Additionally, the value rose from INR 21.55 trillion in November to INR 23.25 trillion, an 8% increase.

    In 2024, there were approximately 172 billion transactions, up 46% from 118 billion in 2023, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Compared to INR 183 trillion in 2023, transactions grew by 35% in value terms to over INR 247 trillion throughout the course of the year.

    Rise in Transactions in Various Segments

    A growth in person-to-merchant transactions (for purchasing products or services) caused the transactions to climb over the course of the year. UPI recorded 16.58 billion transactions in October, totalling INR 23.5 trillion, which was both its largest volume and value to date. The value was INR 20.64 trillion in September, with a volume of 15.04 billion.

    The daily transactions also went up from 516 million to 540 million in December compared to November. As a result, the daily value increased from INR 71,840 crore in November to INR 74,990 crore. Compared to December 2023, the December figures showed a 39% increase in volume and a 28% increase in value. Transactions through the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) increased by 8% in December to 441 million, compared to 408 million in November and 467 million in October. Compared to INR 5.58 trillion in November and INR 6.29 trillion in October, this was an increase of 8% to INR 6.02 trillion in value terms. This represented a 6% increase in value over December 2023 and a 12% drop in volume compared to the previous year.

    December 2024 had 14.23 million daily transactions, up 5% from 13.6 million in November. This amounted to a daily transaction value of INR 19,405 crore, compared to INR 18,611 crore in November 2024.

    Growth in FASTag and AePS Transactions

    Compared to 359 million in November and 345 million in October, the amount of FASTag transactions increased by 6% to 382 million in December. In comparison to INR 6,070 crore in November and INR 6,115 crore in October, the value also rose by 9% to INR 6,642 crore. Compared to December 2023, this represented a 13% increase in value and a 10% increase in volume. December saw a 3% month-over-month growth in daily transactions, reaching 12.32 million.

     Transactions through the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) increased by a small amount, from 92 million in November to 93 million in December. A slight increase in transaction value was also observed, reaching INR 24,020 crore from about INR 23,844 crore in November. The value was INR 32,493 crore, and the volume was 126 million in October. In November and December, there were 3.08 million and 3.02 million daily transactions, respectively. The volume and value of AePS transactions decreased by 1% and 5%, respectively, from the same period last year.

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    StartupTalkyNitin Konde