New Delhi, Aug 25: The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) completed 10 years on Tuesday, marking a major milestone in India's growth of digital payments.
UPI was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in April 2016 with 21 member banks and was opened to the public on August 25, 2016. Since then, it has grown from a new digital payment service into one of India's most widely used payment platforms.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described UPI as a major turning point in India's digital payments journey and said its scale and reach were a matter of pride for every Indian.
Over the past decade, UPI transaction volumes have increased sharply. Transactions rose from 1.78 crore in 2016-17 to 24,162 crore in 2025-26, while transaction value increased from ₹0.07 lakh crore to around ₹314 lakh crore.
UPI recorded 2,365.8 crore transactions worth nearly ₹29.87 lakh crore in July 2026, its highest monthly transaction volume so far. The number of banks connected to UPI also increased to 741 by July.
The platform has made digital payments easier for individuals, small businesses and merchants by enabling instant bank-to-bank and merchant payments through mobile phones. UPI is now widely used for everyday purchases, money transfers, bill payments and other financial transactions.
Since its launch, the platform has introduced several new services, including BHIM, QR payments, UPI AutoPay, UPI Lite, UPI 123PAY, credit-line integration and UPI Circle.
UPI has also expanded internationally and is now available in a number of countries, strengthening India's presence in the global digital payments ecosystem.
The 10-year journey of UPI reflects the rapid growth of India's digital payment infrastructure, from a system supported by 21 banks at launch to a platform connecting hundreds of banks and processing billions of transactions every month.
