NPCI data showed that UPI payment volumes grew much faster than transaction value on November 8. Both measures were higher on the eve of Diwali.
Highlights
- UPI recorded 916.9 million transactions on November 8, up from 695.7 million on the same date last year.
- The total value of Diwali-day transactions rose 1.9% year-on-year to ₹90,029.43 crore.
- On the eve of Diwali, UPI handled 975.8 million transactions worth ₹1,36,118 crore.
- UPI processed 25.47 billion transactions worth ₹31.53 lakh crore in October.
- UPI is now accepted in 11 countries outside India, with Uzbekistan the latest addition.
New Delhi, Nov 10 — Transactions through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) rose 32% year-on-year by volume on Diwali as last-minute festive shopping boosted digital payments. UPI handled 916.9 million transactions on November 8, up from 695.7 million on the same date last year, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The total value of payments grew at a slower pace. UPI transactions on November 8 were worth ₹90,029.43 crore, up 1.9% from ₹88,350.79 crore a year earlier. The gap between growth in volume and value meant the average transaction fell to about ₹982 from ₹1,270 on the same date last year.
Diwali eve records higher transaction volumes
UPI handled 975.8 million transactions worth ₹1,36,118 crore a day before Diwali. That was 58.9 million more transactions than on the festival day itself. The total value of payments on Diwali eve was also about 51% higher than on November 8.
The surge came after a busy October, when festive purchases helped lift UPI volumes to 25.47 billion transactions for the month. Payments through the platform totalled ₹31.53 lakh crore in October. The Diwali-day count alone was equivalent to around 3.6% of the total number of UPI transactions recorded across October.
Uzbekistan joins UPI’s overseas network
UPI is now accepted in 11 countries outside India, with Uzbekistan the latest to join. The other markets are Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Greece.
Launched on August 25, 2016, UPI is an instant payment system developed by NPCI, an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks’ Association. NPCI operates retail payment and settlement systems in India.
The annual value of UPI transactions increased from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY17, the financial year in which the platform launched, to around ₹314 lakh crore in FY26. That marks a more than 4,000-fold increase over the period. The latest Diwali figures show that even as the number of payments rose sharply from a year earlier, the total amount transferred increased only modestly.
