Overview

• NPCI data show 20.01 billion UPI transactions in August worth Rs 24.85 lakh crore, up 2.8% by volume from July as value dipped slightly from Rs 25.08 lakh crore.
• Average daily activity reached 645 million transactions and Rs 80,177 crore, with a single-day record above 700 million on August 2.
• Merchant payments now account for roughly 62–64% of UPI volumes, reflecting a shift toward P2M use and smaller ticket sizes.
• The FY26 incentive outlay for UPI P2M and RuPay debit has been cut to about Rs 437 crore from Rs 2,000 crore in FY25, even as industry estimates a far larger annual funding need.
• The Payments Council of India has sought a 0.30% MDR on large merchants and banks such as ICICI, Axis and Yes Bank have started charging aggregators, but the finance ministry continues to frame UPI as a public good and rejects merchant fees.