India’s Unified Payments Interface maintained strong growth in September, with transaction volumes reaching over 24 billion despite a slight month-on-month decline, highlighting continued digital adoption amid festive spending and new industry norms.
India’s Unified Payments Interface recorded another strong month in September, with data cited by Business Today showing 24.07 billion transactions worth ₹29.37 lakh crore. That was a step down from August’s 24.51 billion transactions worth ₹29.82 lakh crore, but September had one fewer day, so the month-on-month dip does not necessarily point to weaker demand. Moneycontrol reported that average daily transactions crossed 800 million for the first time, reaching 802.3 million, while the average daily value rose to a record ₹97,900 crore.
The figures point to a payment system that continues to deepen its reach across everyday spending. Business Standard said UPI usage held steady in September despite concerns around the new merchant discount rate rules, while Moneycontrol noted that the annual growth rate remained robust at 22.6% by volume and 18% by value. The data also suggests that more people are using UPI for smaller, routine purchases, even as transaction values continue to climb.
Industry executives said the September numbers were helped by the early stages of the festive season. Reeju Datta, co-founder of Cashfree, said the shorter month was the main reason the headline figures eased from August, and noted that Ganesh Chaturthi in mid-September supported spending. The Business Today report also quoted Akshay Mehrotra, managing director and group chief executive of Fibe, as saying the data showed consumer confidence was holding up and that fintech firms had an opportunity to link payments with affordable credit.
The broader digital payments picture was not limited to UPI. Business Today reported that Immediate Payment Service transactions reached ₹7.06 lakh crore in September, up 18% from a year earlier, with average daily volume of 11.80 million transactions. The same report said the new UPI merchant discount rate framework is due to take effect on October 15, applying only to certain person-to-merchant payments above ₹2,000, while smaller transactions will remain free of MDR and merchants with monthly receipts up to ₹1 lakh will stay outside the framework.
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