India’s indigenous payment rail, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) witnessed a record high with a volume of 6.57 billion transactions and 10.72 lakh crore rupees in value, as per National Payments Corporations of India (NPCI).
This is the highest number that the space has ever seen, since its inception back in 2016. In July, this value stood at 6,288.40 million in volume and 10,62,747 million in value.
A steep spike in usage was also seen across different payment platforms such as Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), RuPay Cards, NETC Fastag.
For instance, NETC Fastag, which is the automatic toll deduction at toll plazas, witnessed transactions worth Rs.4245 crores in August, as compared to Rs.4162 crores in July. IMPS also registered Rs.4.45 lakh crore transactions and 46.69 crore in value. However, NPCI’s Aadhaar Enabled Payment System was the only anomaly which saw a dip from ₹30,199 crore in July to ₹27,186 crore in August.
Recently, a discussion paper was floated by RBI proposing a tiered charge framework for UPI payments. The paper also proposed replacing the zero-charge framework for UPI transactions with a subsidy. However, the government issued a statement saying it wouldn’t impose any charges on UPI.
“UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public & productivity gains for the economy. There is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for UPI services. The concerns of the service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means,” the Ministry of Finance had said.
