The International Monetary Fund (IMF) report titled 'Growing Retail Digital Payments (The Value of Interoperability)' from June 2025 identified Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as the largest retail fast-payment system (FPS) globally by transaction volume.

The Ministry of Finance states that, additionally, based on the ACI Worldwide report titled 'Prime Time for Real-Time' 2024, UPI holds approximately 49percent of the transaction volume in the global real-time payment system.

To assist small merchants in embracing digital payment solutions like UPI, a range of initiatives has been launched by the Government, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) periodically.

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These include, among other things, an incentive program for encouraging low-value BHIM-UPI transactions, as well as the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) that offers financial support to banks and fintech companies for establishing digital payment infrastructure (like POS terminals and QR codes) in tier-III to tier-6 locations.

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According to the Ministry, by October 31, 2025, around 5.45 crore digital touchpoints will have been established via PIDF in tier-III to 6 locations. Additionally, by FY 2024-25, a total of 56.86 crore QR had been implemented for around 6.5 crore merchants.

The Government, RBI, and NPCI have begun enhancing digital transactions with RuPay and UPI across sectors such as public services, transportation, and e-commerce platforms on a national scale.

This information was provided by Pankaj Chaudhary, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, in a written response to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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Meanwhile, UPI continued its rapid rise in November 2025, crossing over 19 billion transactions worth Rs 24.58 lakh crore as of November 28, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

This marked a sharp increase compared to the same period last year, when UPI recorded 15.48 billion transactions valued at Rs 21.55 lakh crore in November 2024. The steady year-on-year growth highlights how digital payments have become deeply embedded in India's everyday life.