Initiative Tracker
UPI is the most successful instant payment system ever built. Processing over 16 billion transactions monthly across 650+ banks, it has fundamentally transformed how India pays. Now NPCI is exporting the model internationally - bilateral linkages with Singapore, UAE, and France are live, with more countries in discussion.
UPI (Unified Payments Interface)
EXPANDINGNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) · Launched Apr 11, 2016 · Rails: upi
22.72B (June 2026)
Monthly transactions
↑ Growing
UPI processed 241.62 billion transactions (24,162 crore) worth Rs 314 lakh crore in FY26. May 2026 set the all-time monthly record at 23.20 billion transactions worth Rs 29.90 lakh crore. Active user base exceeds 839 million.
System Status
No upcoming maintenance recorded.
Rollout Tracker
| Country | P2P / P2M | UPI Lite | UPI 123PAY | UPI Credit Line | UPI Autopay | UPI Autopay Mandate Portability | UPI Circle | Unified Soundbox (Interoperable) | UPI Meta / UPI Checkout | UPI-PayNow P2P | Merchant Payments | UPI-Aani Cross-Border Instant Payments | P2P Cross-Border Remittance | Merchant Payments (UPI in Malaysia) | Merchant Payments (DuitNow in India) | Cross-Border Payments | Cross-Border Payments (UPI-KFTC Integration) | Cross-Border Remittances (UPI-Eurobank) | Cross-Border Remittances | Merchant Payments (QR) | Digital Payment Infrastructure | Cross-Border QR Payment Interoperability (UPI-QRIS) | Merchant Payments (UPI-KHQR Corridor) | Cross-Border QR Payment Interoperability (UPI-NAPAS) | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BhutanBT | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Jul 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2025 |
| CambodiaKH | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Jun 2026 | — | Jul 2026 |
| CyprusCY | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| FranceFR | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Jun 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| GreeceGR | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live May 2026 | Live May 2026 | Live Jun 2026 | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| India (domestic)IN | Live Apr 2016 | Live Sep 2022 | Live Mar 2022 | Live Sep 2023 | Live Jan 2020 | Live Dec 2025 | Live | Planned | Planned | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| IndonesiaID | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned Dec 2026 | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| IsraelIL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mar 2026 |
| JapanJP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Apr 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| MalaysiaMY | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned | Planned | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mar 2026 |
| MaldivesMV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned | — | — | — | Jun 2026 |
| MauritiusMU | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Mar 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2025 |
| NepalNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Jan 2024 | — | Live Jun 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| QatarQA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Sep 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mar 2026 |
| SeychellesSC | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned Dec 2026 | — | — | — | Jun 2026 |
| SingaporeSG | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Feb 2023 | Live Feb 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2025 |
| South KoreaKR | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Apr 2026 |
| Sri LankaLK | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Feb 2024 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| UAEAE | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Live Aug 2023 | Planned | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jul 2026 |
| VietnamVN | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Planned | May 2026 |
Timeline
Jul 31, 2026
NPCI UPI API Operational Guidelines (OC-215A) Compliance Deadline
NPCI / Business StandardJul 2, 2026
SWIFT Payments Scheme Goes Live with 25 Banks Across 11 Cross-Border Corridors
ClearingPostJul 1, 2026
NPCI Partners HSBC India and JPMorgan for Real-Time FX on Cross-Border UPI
JPMorgan PaymentsJul 1, 2026
NPCI Signs Real-Time FX Settlement Partnerships with HSBC India and JPMorgan Payments for International UPI
Business StandardJun 30, 2026
UPI Goes Live for Merchant Payments in Greece as Network Reaches Ten Countries
ClearingPostJun 29, 2026
NPCI International Signs MoU with Central Bank of Seychelles to Deploy UPI by Year-End
ClearingPostJun 17, 2026
NPCI Open-Sources Drunix Distributed Ledger Platform for Enterprise Payment Infrastructure
ClearingPostJun 15, 2026
RBI Consolidates Payment System Authorisation Rules Under New Master Directions
ClearingPostJun 8, 2026
Bank of America to Connect Corporate Clients to SPEI, Faster Payments, and UPI for Cross-Border Inst
ClearingPostMay 26, 2026
Eurobank Becomes First European Bank to Enable UPI Cross-Border Remittances from Greece
ClearingPostMay 23, 2026
Paytm Deploys NPCI's UPI Circle for Teen Payments, Capping Transactions at Rs 5,000
ClearingPostMay 15, 2026
NPCI Accelerates UPI Checkout Development as Tokenized Cards Close Online Speed Gap
ClearingPostMay 12, 2026
I4C and RBI Innovation Hub Sign MoU to Scale MuleHunter.AI Across Indian Banking System
ClearingPostMay 11, 2026
NPCI Explores Agentic AI to Cut UPI Bank Compliance Cycles from Weeks to Days
ClearingPostApr 24, 2026
RBI Cancels Paytm Payments Bank License After Two Years of Regulatory Restrictions
ClearingPostApr 22, 2026
RBI Mandates UPI Interoperability for Prepaid Wallets as Public Consultation Closes May 22
ClearingPostApr 22, 2026
RBI Issues E-Mandate Framework 2026, Raising Insurance and Mutual Fund Auto-Debit Limit to Rs 1 Lakh
ClearingPostApr 22, 2026
RBI Issues Draft Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments 2026, Mandating UPI Interoperability for Full-KYC PPIs
RBI / Business StandardApr 21, 2026
NPCI International and KFTC Sign MoU for UPI-Korean Payment System Integration
ClearingPostApr 17, 2026
RBI Proposes One-Hour Delay on UPI and IMPS Transfers Above ₹10,000 to Combat Fraud
ClearingPostApr 11, 2026
UPI Marks Tenth Anniversary After Processing 219 Billion Transactions in FY26
ClearingPostApr 10, 2026
India Bans Cash at 1,150 Highway Toll Plazas, Mandates FASTag and UPI from April 10
ClearingPostApr 7, 2026
India's Active UPI QR Codes Cross 731 Million as Average Transaction Size Falls 8.6 Percent
ClearingPostApr 2, 2026
India's Two-Factor Authentication Mandate Takes Effect as UPI Outages Hit Major Banks
ClearingPostApr 1, 2026
RBI Two-Factor Authentication Mandate Takes Effect April 1, Reshaping Digital Payment Security Acros
ClearingPostApr 1, 2026
SBI Year-End Maintenance Triggers Widespread UPI Outage on First Day of New Financial Year
ClearingPostApr 1, 2026
EPFO 3.0 Goes Live with UPI-Based Instant PF Withdrawals for 80 Million Subscribers
ClearingPostMar 27, 2026
UPI Suffers Fourth March Outage as NPCI Switch Failure Disrupts Transactions at Major Banks
ClearingPostMar 27, 2026
UPI Suffers Fourth March Outage as NPCI Switch Failure Disrupts Transactions at Major Banks
ClearingPostMar 26, 2026
RBI Two-Factor Authentication Mandate Takes Effect April 1, Reshaping Digital Payment Security Acros
ClearingPostMar 24, 2026
NPCI Launches Biometric Authentication for UPI, Replacing PIN Entry for Payments Under Rs 5,000
ClearingPostMar 24, 2026
BHIM App Launches Biometric Authentication for UPI Payments Up to Rs 5,000
/insights/bhim-app-launches-biometric-authentication-for-upi-payments-up-to-rs-5-000Mar 23, 2026
RBI Mandates Flexible Two-Factor Authentication for All Digital Payments from April 1
/insights/rbi-2fa-mandate-digital-payments-april-2026Mar 21, 2026
NPCI Completes UPI Collect Phase-Out After 70% of Fraud Cases Traced to Pull Payments
/insights/npci-completes-upi-collect-phase-out-after-70-of-fraud-cases-traced-to-pull-paymMar 21, 2026
NPCI International Expands UPI Acceptance Across Sri Lanka Through LankaQR Integration
/insights/upi-sri-lanka-lankaqr-expansion-march-2026Mar 20, 2026
RBI Proposes Digital Fraud Compensation Framework with Rs 25,000 Cap
/insights/rbi-proposes-digital-fraud-compensation-framework-with-rs-25-000-capMar 20, 2026
RBI Constitutes Payments Regulatory Board Under New PRB Regulations
/insights/rbi-constitutes-payments-regulatory-board-under-new-prb-regulationsMar 20, 2026
NPCI Cuts RuPay Credit Card UPI Fees as First Credit Line Deployment Goes Live
/insights/npci-cuts-rupay-credit-card-upi-fees-first-credit-line-deploymentMar 19, 2026
UPI Prepares for Japan Launch as NPCI Targets First East Asian Market
/insights/upi-prepares-for-japan-launch-as-npci-targets-first-east-asian-marketMar 19, 2026
RBI's Risk-Based Authentication Framework for Digital Payments Takes Effect April 2026
/insights/rbi-s-risk-based-authentication-framework-for-digital-payments-takes-effect-apriMar 19, 2026
NPCI International and PayNet Sign Agreement for UPI-DuitNow Cross-Border Payments
/insights/npci-international-and-paynet-sign-agreement-for-upi-duitnow-cross-border-paymenMar 16, 2026
Added UPI One World wallet details (40+ countries, CheqUPI app, tourist feature planned for 2026-27 winter), revised P2M limits (₹5L/TX, ₹10L/day for key sectors), Apr 1 2026 inactive number unlinking mandate, NPCI International targeting 4-6 more countries by end 2026, Nexus go-live narrowed to 2027
Mar 10, 2026
UAE's Aani Selects IRP Gateway for Cross-Border Instant Payments, Starting with India UPI
/insights/uae-aani-cross-border-irp-gateway-upiFeb 16, 2026
NPCI Launches UPI One World Wallet for International Delegates at India AI Impact Summit 2026, Enabling Foreigners from 40+ Countries to Make UPI Payments Without Indian Bank Account
NPCIFeb 15, 2026
India and Israel agree to enable UPI payments in Israel via MASAV during PM Modi State visit
Government of IndiaFeb 13, 2026
NPCI International signs agreement with PayNet Malaysia for UPI-DuitNow QR cross-border merchant payments
NPCI International / PayNetFeb 5, 2026
Al Etihad Payments (Aani) selects Montran to build IRP Gateway for cross-border instant payments with UPI as initial integration
Al Etihad Payments / MontranJan 31, 2026
UPI Crosses 228 Billion Annual Transactions - Nearly Half of Global Real-Time Payments
/insights/upi-228-billion-transactions-2025Dec 31, 2025
UPI completes CY2025 with 228.3 billion transactions worth ~INR 300 lakh crore; IMF recognizes UPI as world's largest real-time payment system accounting for 49% of global real-time transactions
NPCI / PIB (Government of India)Dec 8, 2025
US Court Invalidates Federal Debit Interchange Cap, Industry Demands Fed Withdraw Proposed Reduction
/insights/us-reg-ii-debit-interchange-invalidated-2025Nov 14, 2025
Serbia's IPS Hits 106 Million Annual Transactions, Joins SEPA as 41st Country
/insights/serbia-nbs-ips-records-sepa-entry-2025Sep 22, 2025
UPI merchant acceptance goes live in Qatar via QNB partnership, Qatar Duty Free becomes first merchant
QNB GroupJun 16, 2025
NPCI International and Eurobank Cyprus sign MoU for UPI cross-border payments during PM Modi's visit to Cyprus
Government of India / NPCI InternationalOct 1, 2019
UPI Crosses 1 Billion Monthly Transactions
/insights/upi-one-billion-monthly-transactions-2019Related Systems
Competitive Landscape
IMPScomplementary
Instant payment rail
NPCI's earlier instant payment system. UPI was built as an overlay on IMPS infrastructure.
Visa / Mastercard / RuPaycompetitor
Card networks
UPI has significantly displaced card payments in India for both online and in-store.
PhonePe / Google Pay / Paytmcomplementary
UPI app providers
Third-party apps are the primary UPI interface. In May 2026, PhonePe processed 10.735 billion transactions (46.5% market share by volume) worth Rs 14.67 lakh crore. Google Pay processed 7.598 billion transactions (32.9%) worth Rs 10.03 lakh crore. Paytm third at 7.9% with 1.84 billion transactions worth Rs 1.99 lakh crore. Smaller players (WhatsApp, MobiKwik, Kiwi) collectively reached 4.3% market share in May 2026, up from 2.4% in April. Top three combined share declined marginally as smaller apps gained ground. NPCI's 30% volume cap per third-party app, introduced in 2021, remains extended to December 31, 2026. Amazon, Meta, CRED, MobiKwik, and Super.money met NPCI on April 30, 2026 to push for cap enforcement.
NEFT / RTGScomplementary
Bank transfer systems
NEFT (batch) and RTGS (large-value) serve different segments. UPI dominates retail payments.
Articles (63)
NewsJul 10, 2026
NPCI Develops Unified Agent Protocol for AI-Led UPI Payments
India's payment operator is building a framework to register, verify, and authorize AI agents for UPI transactions, extending the UPI Circle delegated payments model into agentic commerce with RBI approval required before launch.
NewsJul 9, 2026
UPI Biometric Authentication Crosses 611 Million Transactions in June
Fingerprint and facial recognition authenticated more than 600 million UPI payments in a single month for the first time in June. NPCI disclosed 611 million such transactions worth ₹25,416 crore on July 8, representing 2.7 percent of total UPI volume.
NewsJul 8, 2026
SWIFT Consumer Payments Scheme Goes Live at Four UK Banks
Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, and NatWest went live on SWIFT's cross-border consumer payment framework on July 1, the first UK banks to adopt the new retail transfer scheme.
NewsJul 8, 2026
India and Indonesia Announce UPI-QRIS Cross-Border Payment Link
Prime Minister Modi and President Prabowo agreed on July 7 to connect India's Unified Payments Interface with Indonesia's QRIS payment standard for cross-border retail transactions.
NewsJul 6, 2026
UPI Goes Live for Merchant Payments in Greece as Network Reaches Ten Countries
Indian travelers can now scan QR codes at participating Greek merchants using their existing UPI apps. Greece is the second European country after France to offer UPI merchant acceptance at the point of sale.
RegulationJul 4, 2026
RBI Postpones Digital Fraud Compensation Scheme to January 2027
Customers who suffer digital banking fraud losses of up to Rs 50,000 can claim compensation of 85 percent of the net loss or Rs 25,000, whichever is lower.
NewsJul 2, 2026
NPCI Partners HSBC India and JP Morgan for Real-Time UPI Forex Settlement
International UPI transaction volumes nearly doubled from 750,000 in FY25 to 1.48 million in FY26. Transaction value rose 28% to Rs 330.43 crore from Rs 258.53 crore in the prior year.
NewsJul 2, 2026
SWIFT Payments Scheme Goes Live with 25 Banks Across 11 Cross-Border Corridors
SWIFT activated its consumer cross-border payments framework at the end of June 2026, with more than 25 banks processing live transactions across corridors linking 11 countries including five of the world's ten largest remittance markets.
NewsJun 29, 2026
NPCI International Signs MoU with Central Bank of Seychelles to Deploy UPI by Year-End
The MoU was one of 19 bilateral outcomes announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Seychelles. The visit coincided with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
RegulationJun 25, 2026
RBI Consolidates Payment System Authorisation Rules Under New Master Directions
The framework introduces perpetual validity for PSO authorisations. Operators meeting regulatory requirements and free of supervisory concerns will receive perpetually valid licences.
RegulationJun 24, 2026
RBI Directs Banks to Apply Standard Prudential Norms to UPI Credit Lines
India's central bank has mandated that all UPI-linked lending products face the same regulatory treatment as conventional credit facilities, ending a three-year period of ambiguity in how banks applied prudential standards to payment-technology-delivered credit lines.
NewsJun 18, 2026
NPCI Open-Sources Drunix Distributed Ledger Platform for Enterprise Payment Infrastructure
India's National Payments Corporation released Drunix on June 17, an open-source high-performance distributed ledger built on Hyperledger Fabric, marking its second blockchain framework after Falcon and extending NPCI's role beyond payment switching into foundational infrastructure provision.
NewsJun 16, 2026
India and France Agree to Expand UPI to Paris and Nice Airports
UPI has been operational at the Eiffel Tower since July 3, 2024. NPCI International Payments Limited partnered with French payments firm Lyra Network to facilitate the deployment.
AnalysisJun 10, 2026
NEFT Crosses 10 Billion Annual Transactions in CY2025 as Average Ticket Size Falls 34 Percent
Reserve Bank of India data shows NEFT processed 1,000 crore transactions worth Rs 482 lakh crore in CY2025, a 27.4 percent volume CAGR from CY2021. Average transaction size declined from Rs 72,895 to Rs 48,200 over the period, indicating expansion into automated batch payment use cases rather than migration toward higher-value transfers.
NewsJun 9, 2026
India and Nepal Launch Bilateral P2P Remittance Linkage Between UPI and NPI
The bilateral payment corridor enables real-time person-to-person fund transfers between Indian and Nepalese bank accounts, making Nepal the second country after Singapore to achieve payment-system-level P2P connectivity with UPI.
NewsJun 8, 2026
Bank of America to Connect Corporate Clients to SPEI, Faster Payments, and UPI for Cross-Border Instant Settlement
Starting Q3 2026, Bank of America's cross-border real-time payments capability will route instant settlement through SPEI in Mexico, the Faster Payments Service in the UK, and UPI in India, accessible via Swift or the CashPro platform with local currency delivery.
NewsJun 8, 2026
UPI Posts Record 23.20 Billion Transactions in May 2026
May 2026 set new all-time records for both UPI transaction volume and value, as year-on-year growth reached 24 percent by transaction count.
NewsJun 4, 2026
NPCI International Launches UPI Acceptance in Cambodia via KHQR Network
Cross-border QR interoperability between UPI and Cambodia's KHQR standard went live this week, providing visitors from India with direct access to 4.5 million retail touchpoints.
AnalysisMay 29, 2026
NEFT Triples to One Billion Annual Transactions Over Four Years
April 2026 data from RBI's bankwise volumes showed 833 million NEFT transactions totaling Rs 44.24 lakh crore. This represented a seasonal decline from the March 2026 fiscal year-end peak of 939 million transactions and Rs 56.62 lakh crore.
AnalysisMay 28, 2026
IMPS Grows 13 Percent as Transaction Size Runs 15 Times UPI Average
IMPS counts 969 participating institutions including banks and prepaid payment instrument issuers as of March 2026. The standard IMPS per-transaction ceiling stands at Rs 5 lakh, five times UPI's Rs 1 lakh P2P cap.
Operational Track Record
No incidents recorded to date.
Tracker last updated: Jul 14, 2026