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The Unified Payments Interface completed ten years of public operation on 25 August 2026, having been opened to users through bank apps on that date in 2016.
Annual transaction volume rose from 1.78 crore in FY 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in FY 2025-26, and value from about Rs 0.07 lakh crore to roughly Rs 314 lakh crore.
UPI was live in 11 countries and accounted for close to half of all real-time payment transactions worldwide, the largest such system by volume.
Before UPI, a digital payment generally locked the user into whichever bank or wallet held the money, and moving funds elsewhere meant registering a beneficiary and waiting. UPI separated the application the user touches from the bank account that holds the money. Any compliant app can initiate a payment on any participating bank account, and the recipient is addressed by a virtual payment address, mobile number or account details rather than by a stored beneficiary record. Because the interface is common to all participating banks, a new entrant does not have to negotiate with each bank separately, which is why the number of participating banks and the number of competing apps could both grow quickly. This is the property called interoperability, and it is the reason UPI is usually described as public digital infrastructure rather than as a product.
Simple Analogy: Email works the same way: you do not need the same provider as the person you are writing to, and changing your provider does not cut you off from anyone. UPI did for payments what a common addressing standard did for mail.
UPI is piloted in Mumbai by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan with 21 member banks participating.
Banks begin releasing UPI-enabled applications, opening the system to the public. This is the date from which the ten years are counted.
The BHIM application is launched to provide a direct UPI payment app.
Annual volume crosses 24,162 crore transactions worth about Rs 314 lakh crore.
741 banks live on the platform; 2,366 crore transactions worth Rs 29.88 lakh crore in the month.
UPI completes ten years of public operation.
The umbrella organisation for retail payment systems in India, which built and operates UPI along with RuPay, IMPS, NACH, AePS and FASTag. It is a not-for-profit company promoted by banks under the guidance of the RBI and the Indian Banks' Association.
Regulator and supervisor of payment and settlement systems in India, exercising this authority under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
GS Paper III > Indian economy, mobilisation of resources, digital public infrastructure; GS Paper II > Government policies and interventions
General Awareness > Banking and financial awareness, payment systems, NPCI products
General Awareness > Indian Economy, Current Affairs
General Awareness > Current Affairs
Consider the following statements: 1. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) helps in promoting the financial inclusion in the country. 2. NPCI has launched RuPay, a card payment scheme. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: Both 1 and 2
Which of the following is a most likely consequence of implementing the 'Unified Payments Interface (UPI)'?
Answer: Mobile wallets will not be necessary for online payments.
With reference to digital payments, consider the following statements: 1. BHIM app allows the user to transfer money to anyone with a UPI-enabled bank account. 2. While a chip-pin debit card has four factors of authentication, BHIM app has only two factors of authentication. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: 1 only
What is/are the facility/facilities the beneficiaries can get from the services of Business Correspondent (Bank Saathi) in branchless areas? 1. It enables the beneficiaries to draw their subsidies and social security benefits in their villages. 2. It enables the beneficiaries in the rural areas to make deposits and withdrawals. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: Both 1 and 2
'Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana' has been launched for
Answer: promoting financial inclusion in the country
An identifier used to send or receive money on UPI without disclosing bank account details.
The property that a payment initiated in any compliant application can settle against any participating bank account, so users are not locked into one provider.
A system in which the transfer of funds between accounts is completed and confirmed within seconds, at any hour.