UPI hits 1 billion transactions in October, plans to go global

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According to times news network , Transactions using India’s own domestic payments platform—Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—hit a landmark of one billion in October,three years after its launch. The UPI also recently crossed 100 million users, making it the fastest adoption of any payments system anywhere in the world.

Having achieved this double milestone, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates the UPI platform, aims to take the network global by enabling acceptance of UPI in Singapore and the UAE.

The UPI platform, which was launched before demonetisation in 2016, enables users to send money from their account to any account without entering bank details by using an email-like handle or scanning a QR code. The NPCI, which launched the RuPay network, had launched this to promote digital payments by harnessing the ubiquitousness of smartphones.

“The UPI has had the fastest acceptance not just in payments but among other platforms as well. I have not compared the numbers but given the time taken to reach 100 million users by social media and other platforms. I am sure we should be among the top,” said Dilip Asbe, chief executive officer, NPCI. To put things in perspective, in August the total volume of all card transactions (debit and credit) put together was 142 crore (1.42 billion).