At 941 Crore, Number Of UPI Transactions Hit All Time High In May Amid Rs 2000 Note Withdrawal

In a month that saw the RBI announce the withdrawal of Rs 2000 notes, which many are calling a 'mini demonetisation', digital payment transactions through UPI zoomed to an all-time high in India.

UPI Transactions Hit All-Time High

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UPI (Unified Payment Interface) transactions in May reached a new all-time high of Rs 14.3 trillion (Rs 14.3 lakh crore) in terms of value and 9.41 billion (941 crore) in volume. It is a 2 percent rise in value (Rs 14.07 lakh crore) and a 6 percent rise in volume (889 crore) compared to the previous month of April.

After the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 notes on May 19, transactions worth around Rs 3.96 trillion happened in the last ten days of May, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Compared to May 2022, transaction volume increased by 58 percent and value by 37 percent, as per the Business Standard report. In March 2023, the numbers stood at 8.68 billion, with a value of Rs 14.1 trillion.

UPI's Jump Amid Rs 2000 Note Withdrawal

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The rise in digital payments came amid the RBI's announcement of the withdrawal of Rs. 2000 notes, especially the jump that the already popular UPI saw. UPI has been no less than a revolution in India ever since it was introduced in 2016, which was the year of demonetisation too. The jump that the last 10 days of May saw in UPI transactions too came at a time when the RBI announced what many are calling 'mini-demonetisation'.

Also, amidst all this, the RBI governor has clarified that Rs 1,000 notes, which were demonetized in 2016, will not be making a comeback. Another thing that has raised questions on RBI's Rs 2000 note withdrawal decision is the data revealed in RBI's recently revealed annual report, which mentioned that the number of fake Rs 500 notes was ten times higher than the fake and now outgoing, Rs 2000 notes in FY23. Click here to learn more about it.

Also Read: RBI Allows UPI To Mimic Credit Cards By Offering Credit Lines Through Banks

IMPS Payments Rise Too

Not just UPI, but Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transactions too saw an increase in May. IMPS saw a marginal rise of around 1 percent to Rs 5.26 trillion, compared to Rs 5.21 trillion in April. During the same period, IMPS volume increased marginally to 500 million in May as against 496 million in April. In March 2023, it was 497 million and Rs 5.46 trillion. The May figures saw a 3 percent growth in volume terms and a 16 percent growth in value terms on IMPS compared to May 2022.

Also, FASTag transactions in May saw a 10 percent rise in volume terms, from 305 million in April to 335 million in May. In value terms, this increased by 6 percent to Rs 5,437 crore in May, compared to Rs 5,149 in April. This segment also saw 17 percent volume growth and 24 percent value growth compared to April 2022. In March 2023, these numbers were 306.3 million transactions with a value of Rs 5,067 crore, as the report mentioned.

Also Read: Explained: Why RBI Has Decided To Launch UPI-based Coin Vending Machines In India

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