UPI completes a decade with record merchant share of 77.3%

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) completed ten years since its launch on 25 August 2016, cementing its position as India's digital payments backbone. UPI processed 241.62 billion transactions in FY26, up 30% from a year earlier, and its average transaction value declined to about Rs 1,300, signalling wider use for everyday purchases. In June 2026, UPI accounted for nearly 84% of retail payment transactions by volume and 58% by value.

A report by Equirus, cited by Times of India, shows UPI's share of person-to-merchant transactions reached a record 77.3% in July 2026, up 243 basis points year-on-year. Credit cards' share of merchant payments fell to 17.7% from 19.8%, while debit cards declined to 3.2% from 3.9%. The Payment Bill has rekindled hopes for merchant discount rate on large-value UPI transactions.

Livemint's weekly charts also highlighted that India retained the top spot in Mint's Emerging Markets Tracker in July with a score of 77.3 out of 100. Separately, the Centre deployed the 'Kanda Express' to move onion buffer stocks from Nashik as retail onion prices rose 36.5% year-on-year to Rs 38.7 per kg.