India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded a historic milestone in March, crossing the 18 billion transaction mark for the first time in a single month, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The total transaction count surged to 18.30 billion, marking a 13.6% month-on-month growth from 16.11 billion in February, and a 36% year-on-year increase.

The total transaction value also saw a notable jump, reaching ₹24.77 lakh crore in March—an increase of 12.80% from ₹21.96 lakh crore in the previous month. The average daily transactions rose to 590 million, up from 575 million in February, while the daily transaction value climbed to ₹79,910 crore from ₹78,446 crore.

This rapid growth can be attributed to multiple factors, including the expanding adoption of UPI among merchants, government-backed digital payment initiatives, and increasing consumer reliance on cashless transactions.

Adding further momentum, the Indian government recently approved a ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme aimed at promoting small-value BHIM-UPI transactions among merchants, which will run from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.

Meanwhile, the UPI ecosystem continues to be dominated by PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm, with Flipkart’s Super.money breaking into the top five for the first time.