New Delhi, Aug 24: From a transaction value of Rs 7000 crore in the Financial Year 2016-17, when it was launched, to a whopping Rs 314 lakh crore in FY26, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India has come a long way and completed a decade of operations.

The digital mode of payment has now become a staple for almost every Indian citizen, with transaction volumes surging nearly 13,000-fold since its launch, while the platform has expanded into 11 countries and emerged as the world's largest real-time payment system by transaction volume, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.

UP has completed a decade of operations. Launched on August 25, 2016, by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India, UPI has become the backbone of India's digital payments ecosystem and a key driver of financial inclusion. Annual transaction volumes increased from 1.78 crore in FY2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in FY2025-26, while transaction value rose from Rs 7,000 crore in FY 2016-17 to around Rs 314 lakh crore during the same period.

The government said the platform's scale, reliability and interoperability have earned global recognition. "UPI has emerged as one of the most successful pillars of India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), providing an interoperable, real-time payments platform that enables seamless peer-to-peer and peer-to-merchant transactions through a single application," the release said.

The International Monetary Fund has recognised UPI as the world's largest real-time payment system by transaction volume. UPI accounted for nearly 49 per cent of global real-time payment transaction volume in 2025, according to the release. The platform currently processes more than 66 crore transactions a day and is operational in the UAE, France, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Mauritius, Qatar, Cambodia, Greece and Maldives.

Adoption has continued to accelerate in 2026. Monthly transactions crossed 2,300 crore for the first time in May, reaching 2,320 crore, before hitting a record 2,366 crore in July. July's transaction value stood at Rs 29.88 lakh crore.

The banking ecosystem supporting UPI has also expanded sharply. The number of banks live on the platform increased from 44 in FY2016-17 to 703 in FY2025-26, while 741 banks were live as of July 2026.

Merchant payments account for 63 per cent of transaction volume, highlighting UPI's role in everyday retail commerce, while 86 per cent of P2M transactions were below Rs 500 in FY2026.

Looking ahead, the government said the next decade will focus on bringing more users and merchants into the UPI ecosystem, supported by policy measures, technological advancement and greater financial inclusion. (ANI)