India Becomes Global Leader in Digital Payments with UPI: IMF
India has emerged as a global leader in fast payments, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processing over ₹24.03 lakh crore through 18.39 billion transactions in June 2025, according to the IMF. This marks a 32% YoY growth from 13.88 billion transactions in June 2024. UPI now handles 85% of India’s digital payments and nearly 50% of all global real-time transactions, surpassing Visa with over 640 million transactions daily.
Serving 491 million users and 65 million merchants, UPI connects 675 banks under a single platform, revolutionizing digital access, especially in rural areas. Launched in 2016 by NPCI, UPI has become a global benchmark for public digital infrastructure and is now operational in seven countries, including France, UAE, and Singapore. India is also advocating for UPI’s adoption in BRICS to boost cross-border payments. The IMF attributes this success to India’s strong digital vision and commitment to inclusive financial growth.
