Synopsis
January recorded the highest volume with 21.7 billion transactions, followed by December and October with 21.6 billion and 20.7 billion transactions, respectively. In value terms too, January led with Rs 28.33 lakh crore, driven by strong year-end and festive spending momentum.Transaction volumes remained consistently elevated, crossing the 20-billion mark in several months, even as growth showed signs of tempering in the latter part of the year.
January recorded the highest volume with 21.7 billion transactions, followed by December and October with 21.6 billion and 20.7 billion transactions, respectively. In value terms too, January led with Rs 28.33 lakh crore, driven by strong year-end and festive spending momentum.
However, NPCI data points to a plateauing towards the end of the fiscal. After peaking in December-January, volumes eased to 20.3 billion in February, while the transaction value fell to Rs 26.84 lakh crore.
In terms of market share among UPI apps, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm continued to dominate through the year. Competition in the digital payments space, however, is intensifying, with players such as Navi, Super.money, and BHIM seeking to expand their share.
Also, Apple is in discussions with Indian banks such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank to launch Apple Pay in the country. However, the company faces pricing challenges in a market where transaction costs are minimal or zero, as reported earlier.
For FY25, NPCI reported a 41.7% increase in net profit, at Rs 1,552 crore, according to ICRA. As a not-for-profit entity, NPCI classifies its profits as a revenue surplus. Its revenues rose 19% to Rs 3,270 crore in FY25 from Rs 2,749 crore in FY24.
NPCI’s FY26 financials are yet to be released.
While UPI continues to grow, the digital payments ecosystem has received around Rs 8,000 crore in subsidies over the past four years for UPI and RuPay debit card transactions, against a budgetary allocation of over Rs 9,000 crore.
