The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) set a new record in May 2025 with 18.68 billion transactions. This is 4.4% more than the 17.89 billion in April. This is a 33% increase over the same month last year.
According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the total value of UPI transactions in May was ₹25.14 lakh crore, 5% more than the ₹23.95 lakh crore in April. The average daily transaction count rose to 602 million, with an average daily transaction value of ₹81,106 crore.
PhonePe and Google Pay remain the leading UPI apps, together holding nearly 80% of the market. In April, PhonePe handled 8.36 billion transactions, while Google Pay handled 6.48 billion transactions worth Rs 8.42 lakh crore. Paytm is close behind with a market share of around 7%. Other apps like CRED, Navi, Amazon Pay, and FamApp are also in the fray.
While NPCI is planning to cap the market share of any third-party UPI app at 30%, the rule has been delayed several times, with the new deadline set for December 31, 2026.
Meanwhile, there is a growing demand from the payments industry to end the zero merchant discount rate (MDR) policy. MDR is a fee charged by merchants for accepting digital payments. From 2020, this fee will not be applicable to UPI and RuPay to encourage digital migration.
The Payments Council of India and the Startup Policy Forum have urged the government to allow a 0.30% MDR for large merchants to help payment companies cover costs and invest in better infrastructure. However, the government is yet to take a final decision.
