India’s flagship digital payments network, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has achieved another historic milestone. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its June 2025 report Growing Retail Digital Payments (The Value of Interoperability), has officially recognised UPI as the world’s largest retail real-time payment system by transaction volume — a monumental validation of India’s digital transformation journey.
According to the report, UPI now accounts for an extraordinary 49% of all real-time payment transactions globally, making India the undisputed global leader in digital payments. Supporting this, ACI Worldwide’s Prime Time for Real-Time Payments 2024 study also identified UPI as the biggest fast-payment network worldwide.
In 2024, India processed 129.3 billion real-time transactions, securing nearly half of the worldwide volume of 266.2 billion. Brazil followed with 37.4 billion transactions (14%), while Thailand processed 20.4 billion (8%). China recorded 17.2 billion (6%), and South Korea logged 9.1 billion (3%). The rest of the world collectively contributed 20% of global real-time payments.
The government informed Parliament that UPI’s rapid expansion is the outcome of coordinated efforts by the Government of India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Key initiatives include incentives for low-value BHIM-UPI transactions and the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), which supports the deployment of digital payment devices such as QR codes and POS terminals across tier-3 to tier-6 cities.
As of October 31, 2025, India had deployed 5.45 crore digital touchpoints in smaller towns through PIDF. By FY 2024-25, over 56.86 crore QR codes were provided to nearly 6.5 crore merchants, strengthening the national digital economy.
UPI’s momentum continued in November 2025, with NPCI data showing transaction volume surpassing 19 billion and value reaching ₹24.58 lakh crore — a strong 23% YoY growth in volume and 14% in value.
With global adoption rising and government-backed infrastructure deepening, UPI continues to redefine digital payments and reinforce India’s leadership in financial innovation.
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