UPI transactions overtake debit card payments in 2018-19: RBI annual report

The number of transactions via real-time payments system, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), were 1.2 times higher than the number of debit card transactions in 2018-19, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report.

According to the report, there were as many as 5.35 billion UPI-based transactions, compared to 4.41 billion debit card payments. In a first, UPI-based transactions overtook debit card payments, indicating a shift in consumers’ choices and preferences as far as digital payments are concerned. Besides UPI and debit cards, National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), prepaid payment instruments such as wallets, internet banking are some other popular e-payment options.

The jump is phenomenal, considering UPI was launched three years ago by the RBI-backed National Payments Corporation of India. During 2017-18, there were 915.2 million UPI transactions, compared to 3.34 billion debit card transactions.