New Delhi, July 2025 — India’s homegrown digital payments network, UPI (Unified Payments Interface), has officially surpassed Visa in daily transaction volume, processing over 650 million transactions every day, according to statements from Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO.
Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI has transformed from a government-led initiative into the world’s most-used real-time payment platform — now outpacing even global incumbents like Visa and Mastercard.
“This is phenomenal,” said Kant, emphasizing that India achieved this scale in under nine years.
The platform’s growth has been fueled by interoperability, zero MDR for users, and rapid smartphone penetration across urban and rural India. Today, UPI is used for everything from street vendor QR codes to million-rupee B2B payments — making it one of the most inclusive financial systems globally.
Beyond domestic success, UPI is now expanding internationally with tie-ups in countries like Singapore, France, UAE, and Sri Lanka, where Indian tourists and local merchants can transact seamlessly using QR-based payments.
Analysts say UPI’s rise reflects a shift in fintech infrastructure where governments, not just private firms, are driving scalable innovation. The IMF and World Bank have already cited UPI as a model for real-time payments in developing nations.
With UPI now processing more transactions per day than Visa, India isn’t just building fintech — it’s exporting it.
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