UPI transactions at 9.3 bn in June, double of Jan 2022

Driven by Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions through mobile phones, India saw its UPI transactions touch 9.3 billion in June 2023. Mobile phone transactions was 52.15 billion in H123, compared to 33.55 billion in H1’22, says the India Digital Payments Report for H1 2023 (January to June 2023) of Worldline, a global leader in payment services. The P2M transactions accounted for 57% of all UPI transactions in June 2023, up from 40.3% in January 2022, the report said.

The Worldline analysis based on public database found that the digital payments acceptance infrastructure channels saw a surge between January 2022 and June 2023. The point of sale (PoS) terminals grew by 44% to 8.09 million. The UPI QRs grew 79% to 272 million. The growth in PoS terminals has also been helped by the RBI’s PIDF scheme while UPI QR growth has been driven by the private companies dominating UPI acceptance. This growth in UPI QRs is also reflected in the growth in UPI transactions as well as how it has had an impact on other forms of payment, the report said.

The UPI transaction volume has experienced a major upswing from 4.6 billion transactions in January 2022 to 9.3 billion in June 2023. The transaction value increased from ₹8.3 lakh crore in January 2022 to ₹14.7 lakh crore in June 2023.

When comparing H1’23 to H1’22, the volume of UPI transactions increased by 62% from 31.95 billion to 51.91 billion. When the value of transactions is compared, it increased by 47% from ₹56.59 lakh crore to ₹83.17 lakh crore.

The report reveals that in H1 2023, frequently visited In-Store merchant categories such as grocery stores, restaurants, service stations, clothing stores, government services, pharmacies and hospitals accounted for around 65% in terms of volume and nearly 50% of the total transaction value. In the online space, e-commerce, gaming, utilities, government and financial services amounted to more than 80% of the total transaction volume and contributed to more than 75% of the total transaction value. Top 10 states and UT with the highest number of transactions at physical touch points in 2022 for Worldline India were Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the report said.

 “Every passing month serves as a testament to the rapid adoption of digital payments. Looking back at the first half of 2023, I find myself even more optimistic about the payment trends unfolding in India; the impressive performance of UPI, the surge in credit card usage, the jump in mobile payments volume, and the uptick in small ticket size of P2M transactions. All this indicates that broad swathes of the country, rural and urban, are embracing digital payments”, Ramesh Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer - India, Worldline, said.