Did Amitabh Kant Praise UPI for Overtaking Visa?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- UPI has become the world's leading real-time payment system.
- It processes 650 million transactions daily.
- UPI has overtaken Visa in transaction volume.
- India accounts for 48.5% of global real-time payments.
- The RBI plans to expand UPI to 20 countries by 2028-29.
New Delhi, July 13 (NationPress) Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant praised UPI for emerging as the world's foremost real-time payment system, achieving an impressive 650 million transactions daily and successfully overtaking Visa.
Kant described this milestone as ‘extraordinary’, stating, “This marks one of the most significant accomplishments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. It has revolutionized the lives of citizens.”
“UPI has outpaced Visa to establish itself as the world's leading real-time payment system, managing over 650 million transactions daily. Achieving this remarkable feat in just nine years underscores its unparalleled scale and momentum,” he shared on X. “From India to the global stage, UPI is at the forefront of the digital payment transformation.”
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has solidified its position in India’s digital payment landscape, with its share of total transaction volume increasing to 83.7% in 2024-25, up from 79.7% the previous year.
The RBI’s annual report indicates that UPI supported 185.8 billion transactions during 2024-25, reflecting a 41% year-on-year surge. In value terms, UPI transactions rose to Rs 261 lakh crore from Rs 200 lakh crore in FY24.
“The triumph of UPI has positioned India as a leader, accounting for 48.5% of global real-time payments by volume,” the RBI stated.
The overall digital payments in the nation, incorporating transactions via payment systems, card networks, and prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), experienced a 35% growth to 221.9 billion in FY25, compared to 164.4 billion in FY24. In value terms, total digital payments soared 17.97% to Rs 2,862 lakh crore.
Credit card transactions surged to 4.7 billion in FY25 from 3.5 billion in FY24, while debit card usage saw a significant 29.5% drop, decreasing to 1.6 billion transactions. The proportion of digital transactions in the overall volume of non-cash retail payments reached 99.9% in FY25, up from 99.8% in FY24.
The RBI is also dedicated to expanding UPI to 20 countries by 2028-29.
Acceptance of Indian UPI applications via QR codes has already been established in Bhutan, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the UAE, enabling Indian tourists, students, and business travelers to transact with merchants using their domestic UPI apps.
Additionally, the RBI reported a decline in total fraud cases; however, fraud amounts tripled to Rs 36,014 crore, primarily due to increasing fraudulent transactions. In contrast, card and internet fraud incidents decreased significantly from 29,802 in FY24 to 13,516 in FY25.