UPI transactions soar to record 12.02 billion in December 2023
UPI services now available in Sri Lanka and Mauritius
In December, the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) achieved unprecedented milestones, with a total of 12.02 billion transactions amounting to Rs 18.23 lakh crore.
This marks a five percent increase in volume and a seven percent increase in value compared to the previous month.
Additionally, when compared to the transactions in the year 2022, the total value in 2023 reached Rs 183 lakh crore, an annual increase of 59 percent.
In 2023, the number of transactions witnessed a significant surge, experiencing a 45 percent increase and reaching a total of 117 billion transactions, as reported by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Notably, the popularity of UPI is the outcome of several steps taken by the government in the recent past, making these transactions seamless and convenient.
For instance, PFRDA recently enabled consumers to deposit their NPS contributions through the UPI QR code directly under the Direct-Remittance (D-Remit) process.
In September of the previous year, the RBI introduced various payment options on UPI, including conversational transactions. Among these, ‘Hello! UPI’ facilitates voice-enabled UPI payments in Hindi and English through apps, telecom calls, and IoT devices. The credit line on UPI allows users to access pre-sanctioned credit from banks.
Another product, LITE X, enables users to send and receive money offline. UPI Tap and Pay functionality is set to go live for UPI members by January 31, 2024.
A crucial update is that inactive UPI IDs, dormant for a year, will be disabled starting January 1, 2024, following a circular issued by NPCI on November 7, 2023. However, customers can re-register their UPI apps to resume payments and non-financial transactions using UPI PIN as needed.
