Stand at almost any shop counter in India today and you will see the same sign: scan and pay. From metropolitan supermarkets to roadside tea stalls, retailers increasingly prefer digital settlement. They avoid the hassle of change, accounting becomes easier, and payments leave a clean record.
UPI now moves more money every year than most national infrastructure projects ever will. ₹230 trillion in transactions is not a fintech milestone. It is the backbone of India’s retail economy, quietly powering daily commerce, household payments, small businesses, transport systems, and even government flows. And yet, for something this large, this critical, and this […]
On the evening of November 8, 2016, India came to a standstill. Millions lined up outside banks, clutching stacks of suddenly worthless notes. The government’s announcement to invalidate ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes overnight was met with confusion, panic, and fierce debate. Economists called it reckless. Politicians called it a stunt. But few understood that demonetization […]
Qatar has become the eighth country to accept India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Indian travellers in Qatar can now make payments using UPI at select merchants, easing the need for cash or currency exchange. How the Integration Works The rollout is enabled through a partnership between NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and Qatar National Bank […]
UPI crossed a new milestone in August 2025 by processing 20.01 billion transactions in a single month. This marked the first time UPI volume went past the 20 billion mark. The total transaction value was ₹24.85 lakh crore, slightly lower than July’s ₹25.08 lakh crore. On average, UPI handled 645 million transactions a day, amounting […]
India’s digital economy was supposed to be a story of empowerment — of chaiwalas flashing QR codes, fruit vendors skipping change hassles, and small businesses riding the wave of UPI-powered inclusion. But just when the country seemed to be turning the corner on cash, the bureaucracy decided to remind everyone who’s really in charge. The […]
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has expanded the UPI‑PayNow facility by adding 13 more Indian banks to its international remittance network. With this update, a total of 19 Indian banks can now facilitate real-time cross-border fund transfers between India and Singapore. Real-Time Transfers Made Easier The UPI‑PayNow integration allows Indian residents to
In Bengaluru, several small traders, food vendors, and street shopkeepers have stopped accepting UPI payments and switched back to cash-only transactions. The shift follows a wave of GST notices sent to unregistered vendors whose UPI transactions crossed prescribed turnover thresholds. Many vendors fear that digital payment records are being used by tax authorities to
India has emerged as the world’s fastest digital payments market, largely driven by the widespread use of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). According to recent global financial assessments, India now records over 18 billion UPI transactions every month, making it the largest real-time retail payments system globally by volume. Cash and Card Use on the […]
Since its inception in 2016, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has revolutionized India’s digital payment ecosystem, experiencing exponential growth over the past five years. In 2019, UPI accounted for 34% of the country’s digital transactions; by 2024, this figure had surged to an impressive 83%. In 2024 alone, India recorded 208.5 billion digital payment















