India Tops Global UPI Usage with Over 18 Billion Transactions Monthly: IMF

India is now making more than 18 billion UPI transactions every month, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). UPI (Unified Payments Interface), launched by NPCI in 2016, has brought a digital revolution to India's payment system. In its recent note titled "Growing Retail Digital Payments: The Value of Interoperability," the IMF said that UPI's rapid growth has made India the global leader in real-time digital payments.

UPI allows users to link multiple bank accounts with a single mobile app and enables fast, easy, and secure money transfers. It transformed peer-to-peer (P2P) payments and made it easier for millions of small businesses to accept digital payments at low cost. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), UPI now accounts for over 85% of all digital payments in India.

In June 2024 alone, UPI processed 18.39 billion transactions worth ₹24.03 lakh crore — a 32% increase compared to the same month last year. Over 491 million people and 65 million merchants use UPI. It connects 675 banks through a unified digital framework. As PIB noted, UPI has become a powerful tool for India's economy, offering secure, cashless, and card-free transactions to millions every day.