Overview
- RBI’s Payment System Report shows UPI processed 106.37 billion transactions worth about Rs 143.3 lakh crore in the first half of 2025, accounting for roughly 85% of retail payment volumes.
- Merchant acceptance expanded sharply, with UPI QR terminals more than doubling to 678 million by June 2025 and PoS devices rising to 11.2 million, reflecting rapid micro-merchant onboarding.
- Peer-to-merchant payments drove growth in H1 2025, rising 37% to 67.01 billion transactions versus 31% growth in peer-to-peer to 39.35 billion, as everyday categories normalized QR-based checkout.
- Average UPI ticket size dropped from Rs 1,478 to Rs 1,348 year-on-year, indicating more frequent, lower-value purchases at kiranas and other daily-use merchants.
- Worldline’s report highlights next-phase drivers such as frictionless biometrics, chat-based ‘pay’ journeys, UPI Autopay, embedded credit and cross-border corridors, while commentators like Nikhil Kamath call for promoting UPI internationally as digital soft power.