New Delhi: Homegrown Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed a record 24.51 billion transactions worth Rs 29.8 lakh crore in August, primarily fuelled by Raksha Bandhan, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The UPI transactions in value terms were Rs 29.8 lakh crore, near a record high of Rs 29.9 lakh crore in May and July 2026.
As per the data released on Tuesday, UPI transactions in volume terms touched a record of 24.51 billion in August, much higher than 23.66 billion in the previous month. The volume was 22.72 billion in June and 23.2 billion in May of this year.
The value of transactions was Rs 29.82 lakh crore in August, up from Rs 24.85 lakh crore in the same month a year ago, registering 20% annual growth.
At the same time, UPI volume rose by 22% on an annual basis to 24.51 billion in August as against 19.63 billion in the same month last year, according to NPCI data.
National Payments Corporation of India, an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association, is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India (IBA).
It runs the UPI used for real-time payments between peers or at merchants’ end while making purchases.
The volume growth in August was further bolstered by festive activity such as Raksha Bandhan, which naturally drove a surge in everyday peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and small-ticket gifting, and consistent aggregate transaction value with an increase in volume over the past three months underscores the expanding reach and depth of the UPI ecosystem, Cashfree Payments co-founder Reeju Datta said. Looking ahead, he said, the upcoming festive season presents an exciting growth frontier.
As the festive season approaches and new use cases such as credit on UPI start to mature, continued investment in resilient, intelligent infrastructure will be key to sustaining India’s leadership in digital payments, Network People Services Technologies (NPST) co-founder and CEO Deepak Chand Thakur said.
As far as overseas presence is concerned, UPI now is accepted in 11 countries, with Uzbekistan being the latest entry. The other countries where UPI is accepted are Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Greece.
The UPI, launched on August 25, 2016, has transformed India’s digital payments landscape, with transaction value surging from Rs 0.07 lakh crore in FY17 to around Rs 314 lakh crore in FY26, a more than 4,000-fold increase over the decade. Annual UPI transaction volume rose from 1.78 crore in 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in 2025-26, an almost 13,000-fold increase.
