Daily Unified Payments Interface transactions hit record high in February; average daily value nears Rs 1 lakh crore mark

India’s real-time payments ecosystem maintained its strong growth trajectory in February, with average daily Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions hitting a new record even though overall monthly volumes dipped slightly from January due to fewer calendar days.

Figures released on March 1 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) showed that average daily transaction volumes climbed to 728 million in February — the highest since UPI’s inception. The average daily transaction value also surged, approaching the Rs 1 lakh crore milestone, underscoring the growing dominance of digital payments in everyday commerce.

Total monthly transactions came in at 20.39 billion, lower than January’s 21.7 billion largely because February had fewer days. However, the intensity of usage strengthened. Average daily transaction value rose to nearly Rs 95,857 crore, up from around Rs 91,387 crore in January, reflecting stronger payment flows despite the shorter month.

The continued rise in daily activity highlights UPI’s evolution from a peer-to-peer transfer platform into the backbone of India’s consumption economy. In early 2022, daily transaction volumes averaged about 150 million. That figure has now expanded nearly fivefold in four years, signalling widespread adoption across retail purchases, small merchants, utility payments and recurring transactions.

Although year-on-year growth rates have cooled from earlier triple-digit surges, momentum remains solid. Transaction volumes grew roughly 26.6 percent year-on-year in February, while transaction value increased by more than 22 percent — notable gains on an already large base.

Meanwhile, the average transaction size has stabilised at around Rs 1,300 after declining steadily between 2022 and 2024. The plateau suggests that UPI’s expansion is now being driven more by higher frequency usage than shrinking ticket sizes — pointing to deeper integration into routine economic behaviour rather than just new user additions.