The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has undeniably revolutionized India’s digital transaction landscape in 2024. Its growth is fueled by expanded features, including increased transaction limits and UPI-enabled ATMs, solidifying its position as the leading digital payment method in India. Moreover, UPI’s international expansion signals a global shift towards streamlined and secure payment systems. Let’s delve into UPI’s transformative impact on the digital payments sector this year.
Record-Breaking Performance
UPI has consistently demonstrated remarkable growth in 2024. In October, it surpassed 10 billion merchant transactions, achieving a 53% year-on-year (YoY) growth. According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI processed a total of 16.5 billion transactions in the same month. Notably, on Diwali (October 31), UPI set a new single-day record with 644 million transactions. This momentum continued in November with 15.48 billion transactions, reflecting a 38% YoY increase in transaction volume.
Global Acceptance
UPI’s influence is no longer confined to India. It has extended its reach to seven countries, including Sri Lanka, Mauritius, France, the UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal. Furthermore, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a subsidiary of NPCI, is reportedly engaging with approximately 20 nations across Africa and South America to implement UPI-like payment systems, paving the way for global acceptance of this innovative technology.
Cash Deposits at ATMs using UPI Apps
In a groundbreaking move, UPI now facilitates cash deposits at bank ATMs without requiring debit or physical cards. Launched in August at the Global Fintech Fest 2024 in Mumbai, the UPI Interoperable Cash Deposit (UPI-ICD) feature allows customers to deposit cash using their UPI-linked mobile number, virtual payment addresses (VPA), and account IFSCs. This innovation enables deposits into both personal and other bank accounts, enhancing the convenience of UPI.
UPI Circle: Expanding Accessibility
UPI Circle, a newly introduced feature, empowers users to grant transaction authorization from their UPI accounts to others with predetermined limits. This functionality particularly benefits family members like senior citizens, spouses, or children, enabling them to make transactions without linking their bank accounts to UPI. Each primary user can authorize up to five secondary users, while secondary users can be linked to only one primary user, ensuring secure and streamlined shared account usage.
Increased Transaction Limit
To further enhance convenience, NPCI raised the transaction limit for UPI payments in September. The limit was increased from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh for specific categories, including tax payments, payments to hospitals and educational institutions, and investments in IPOs and RBI retail direct schemes. This change simplifies high-value transactions, particularly benefiting taxpayers by enabling seamless tax payments via UPI.
Auto Top-Up for UPI Lite
UPI Lite users now enjoy the convenience of an auto top-up feature. This automatically replenishes their balance when it falls below a defined threshold, eliminating the need for manual top-ups and ensuring seamless digital transactions.
These advancements collectively contribute to the accelerated adoption of digital payments in India through UPI, making it an integral part of the country’s financial ecosystem.
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