UPI Hits Record 24.51 Bn Transactions in August

In August, India’s UPI payment system pushed its monthly counter to 24.51 Bn transactions, a fresh record. The total rose nearly 4% from 23.66 Bn in July and 22% from 20.01 Bn in August 2025, according to data released by NPCI. Average daily transaction count reached 791 Mn, up from 763 Mn the month before.

The value moved in the opposite direction. UPI payments were worth ₹29.82 Lakh Cr in August, down marginally from ₹29.88 Lakh Cr in July, while average daily transaction value declined 0.2% to ₹96,205 Cr. Year on year, however, the monthly value was up 20%. NPCI will release app-by-app figures later this month; in July, PhonePe processed 1,085.8 Cr transactions and Google Pay recorded 764.98 Cr.

That scale has sharpened the question of how payment companies make money. UPI has historically used zero MDR, a charge applied to merchants on transactions. A law passed last month replaced the blanket statutory bar on MDR for UPI and RuPay debit-card transactions with an exemption framework set by the government; the amendment itself does not impose a fee. The policy context matters because companies have relied on government incentives and adjacent financial services to monetise their large transaction bases.

For users and merchants, the practical payoff may come from making UPI less sticky to a particular app. NPCI is reportedly working on portable UPI AutoPay mandates—permissions for recurring payments—so consumers could switch apps and merchants could change payment providers without recreating them. Indian travellers may also pay merchants in Uzbekistan by scanning UZQR codes through UPI-enabled apps, following an agreement between NPCI’s international arm, NIPL, and national payment system HUMO.

And then there is reach beyond smartphones and reliable connections. PhonePe has launched UPI payments for feature phones through UPI 123Pay, which works without an internet connection and is aimed at India’s more than 20 Cr feature-phone users. The August record adds to evidence of UPI’s expanding reach across payment use cases, even as payment companies look for ways to monetise their transaction bases.