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India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has reached a historic milestone by crossing the 20 billion monthly transaction mark for the first time in August 2025. According to industry data, UPI processed 20.01 billion transactions, with a total value of ₹24.85 lakh crore during the month.
Growth Momentum Over the Past Three Months
The growth trajectory has been steady:
- June 2025: 18.40 billion transactions worth ₹24.04 lakh crore
- July 2025: 19.47 billion transactions worth ₹25.08 lakh crore (5.8% jump over June)
- August 2025: 20.01 billion transactions worth ₹24.85 lakh crore (2.8% higher in volume over July, though slightly lower in value by 0.9%)
On a year-on-year basis, transaction volumes rose by 34%, while the overall value of payments climbed by 21%. The daily average stood at 645 million transactions, with a daily transaction value of nearly ₹80,177 crore. On August 2, UPI set a new single-day record, surpassing 700 million transactions.
Impact of Online Gaming Ban
Interestingly, the surge came despite the disruption caused by the ban on real-money gaming (RMG) platforms, which historically accounted for a large chunk of UPI traffic. The ban, enforced under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, led to the shutdown of several platforms. Yet, consumer reliance on UPI for peer-to-peer transfers and merchant payments kept the momentum strong.
Market Share – PhonePe Leads the Pack
As of July 2025, PhonePe dominated the UPI ecosystem with 8.93 billion transactions (45.88% market share), followed by Google Pay with 6.92 billion transactions (35.56%). In terms of transaction value, PhonePe handled 48.64% of payments, while Google Pay processed 35.53%.
Merchant Categories Driving UPI Growth
Among merchant categories, groceries and supermarkets accounted for the highest transaction volume at 3.03 billion, translating into payments worth ₹64,882 crore. This was followed by:
- Fast food outlets: 1.22 billion transactions
- Restaurants: 1.15 billion transactions
- Digital goods & gaming: 351 million transactions worth ₹10,076 crore (includes RMG before ban)
The detailed breakup for August is expected soon from NPCI.
UPI as India’s Digital Payment Backbone
With its consistent rise from 18.40 billion in June to 20.01 billion in August, UPI has further strengthened its role as India’s most trusted digital payment system, enabling everything from small-ticket grocery spends to large online transactions.
Disclaimer
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