Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which forms the bedrock of India's digital payments revolution, has reached the milestone of completing 10 years of its journey. UPI, which was introduced on August 25, 2016, by NPCI under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has created history in terms of digital financial inclusion all across India. As per the Ministry of Finance, UPI has become the largest real-time payment system in the world with its unprecedented growth in terms of both transaction volume and value.

UPI was introduced on August 25, 2016. In the initial phase of April 2016, UPI was operational only for 21 banks. In the initial months, in August 2016, only 90,000 transactions took place. The number of banks that were live for UPI was 44 in FY 2016-17, and it has gone up to 703 in FY 2025-26 and 741 in July 2026. Currently, it has reached even those remote corners of the country and connected all public, private, small finance, payments, and cooperative banks.

The transaction volume of UPI has grown by 13,000 times in the past ten years. The transaction volume in FY 2016-17 was 17.8 million, whereas, in FY 2025-26, it has touched 24,162 crore, resulting in a CAGR of 188%. Similarly, the transaction value is expected to grow almost 4,000 times from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY 2016-17 to ₹314 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, growing at CAGR of 155%. An average of 66 crore transactions would take place daily in 2026, and 2,366 crore transactions worth ₹29.88 lakh crore have been recorded in July 2026.

UPI is now an integral part of everyday shopping. In FY 2025-26, person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, representing recurring small retail payments, accounted for 63% of total transaction volume. In contrast, transactions between people (P2P) accounted for 71% of total value. In terms of volume, 86% of P2M transactions are less than ₹500, proving that people are choosing UPI over cash for small expenses.

UPI has now transcended domestic boundaries and become a global benchmark. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also recognized it as the world's largest real-time payment system. By 2025, Indian UPI will account for approximately 49% of global real-time transaction volume. It is currently operational in 11 countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece, and the Maldives.

The next decade of UPI will bring even greater change to India's digital payments landscape. The government is committed to onboarding new users and merchants to this ecosystem. The next phase of UPI-based innovation will be strengthened through policy support, continued technological advancements, and financial inclusion, ensuring secure and quick payments are accessible to every citizen.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which forms the bedrock of India's digital payments revolution, has reached the milestone of completing 10 years of its journey. UPI, which was introduced on August 25, 2016, by NPCI under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has created history in terms of digital financial inclusion all across India. As per the Ministry of Finance, UPI has become the largest real-time payment system in the world with its unprecedented growth in terms of both transaction volume and value.

UPI was introduced on August 25, 2016. In the initial phase of April 2016, UPI was operational only for 21 banks. In the initial months, in August 2016, only 90,000 transactions took place. The number of banks that were live for UPI was 44 in FY 2016-17, and it has gone up to 703 in FY 2025-26 and 741 in July 2026. Currently, it has reached even those remote corners of the country and connected all public, private, small finance, payments, and cooperative banks.

The transaction volume of UPI has grown by 13,000 times in the past ten years. The transaction volume in FY 2016-17 was 17.8 million, whereas, in FY 2025-26, it has touched 24,162 crore, resulting in a CAGR of 188%. Similarly, the transaction value is expected to grow almost 4,000 times from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY 2016-17 to ₹314 lakh crore in FY 2025-26, growing at CAGR of 155%. An average of 66 crore transactions would take place daily in 2026, and 2,366 crore transactions worth ₹29.88 lakh crore have been recorded in July 2026.

UPI is now an integral part of everyday shopping. In FY 2025-26, person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, representing recurring small retail payments, accounted for 63% of total transaction volume. In contrast, transactions between people (P2P) accounted for 71% of total value. In terms of volume, 86% of P2M transactions are less than ₹500, proving that people are choosing UPI over cash for small expenses.

UPI has now transcended domestic boundaries and become a global benchmark. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also recognized it as the world's largest real-time payment system. By 2025, Indian UPI will account for approximately 49% of global real-time transaction volume. It is currently operational in 11 countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece, and the Maldives.

The next decade of UPI will bring even greater change to India's digital payments landscape. The government is committed to onboarding new users and merchants to this ecosystem. The next phase of UPI-based innovation will be strengthened through policy support, continued technological advancements, and financial inclusion, ensuring secure and quick payments are accessible to every citizen.