UPI clocks its highest monthly volume with 1.5 billion transactions in July

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) at 1.49 billion transactions has recorded the highest volume in July for the second consecutive month. This is considered as a positive sign of Indians adopting mobile-based digital payments over cash during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In June 2020, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) managed channel had seen 1.34 billion transactions worth Rs 2.61 lakh crore (U$ 37.03 billion), whereas the value of transactions increased to Rs 2.90 lakh crore (US$ 41.14 billion) in July, as per the latest data released by NPCI.

This is a ‘V-shaped’ rebound that comes on the back of steep fall seen in the months of March and April during the nationwide lockdown when the popular instant payment service had lost nearly 25 per cent of transaction volumes from the pre-COVID-19 months.

According to the experts, this is a sign of a pandemic-induced payment behaviour change among consumers that have attributed in increasing the adoption of digital payments during the pandemic.

The campaigns were launched by NPCI, banks, the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian government urging users to adopt 'contactless' payment modes from cash.

The data showed that the transaction volumes recorded on most retail payment channels operated by NPCI have either surpassed or inching back to pre-covid-19 levels.

The NPCI data showed that the transactions recorded on National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) which powers FasTag payments at highways also continued its recovery in July from June.

In June 2020, a total of 87 million transactions worth Rs 1,623 crore (US4 230.25 million) was processed which was almost eight times from April when just 10 million transactions worth Rs 247 crore (US$ 35.04 million) was processed.

The improvement in electronic toll volumes is substantial as it indicates a return of road traffic and intercity commute. For comparison, February had seen a record 110 million Fastag transactions worth Rs 1843 crore (US$ 261.46 million).

Likewise, there has been increase in transactions through BBPS channel as customers are now increasingly getting comfortable paying their bills online.

BBPS too recorded a highest ever 20.16 million transactions worth Rs 3,707 crore (US$ 525.89 million) processed on its platform in July, which is almost 25 per cent more transactions than 14.92 million transactions worth Rs 1,957 crore (US$ 277.63 million) processed on the platform in February before the pandemic.

Independently, IMPS used for instant bank to bank fund transfer between accounts also saw volumes surge to 222 million transactions worth Rs 2.25 lakh crore (US$ 31.92 million) in July, the data showed. IMPS count in June was at 199 million worth Rs 2.06 lakh crore (US$ 29.22 billion).