According to PTI, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions hit a record high in March due to festive spending and financial year-end activity, with both value and volume reaching new peaks.Data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) showed that the total value of UPI transactions during March stood at Rs 29.53 lakh crore, up 19 per cent from Rs 24.77 lakh crore in the same month last year.On a month-on-month basis, the transaction value increased 10 per cent from Rs 26.84 lakh crore recorded in February.In terms of volume, UPI recorded 22.64 billion transactions during the month, showing a growth of 24 percent from 18.3 billion transactions a year ago. Volume in February was 20.39 billion.Average daily transactions stood at 730 million with an average daily value of Rs 95,243 crore, led by increased spending during festivals like Holi and Eid.Anand Kumar Bajaj, MD & CEO, PayNearby, said, “The continued growth in the digital payments ecosystem in India is a testament to the penetration of real-time payment systems in people’s daily lives. UPI processed 22.64 billion transactions worth Rs 29.53 lakh crore in March 2026, emerging as one of the trusted payment systems in the country.”UPI now accounts for about 85 percent of all digital transactions in India and contributes to about 50 percent of global real-time digital payments.The platform is operational in seven countries including UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France and Mauritius, with its entry into France marking its first expansion into Europe.NPCI, an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Banks’ Association, operates UPI, which enables real-time peer-to-peer and merchant payments across the country.
