India’s digital payments landscape is evolving fast. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) continues to reshape how people transact. It now serves more than 500 million active users, and in July alone, processed 19.47 billion transactions worth ₹25.08 trillion, equivalent to over 7,000 transactions per second. Real-world impact is evident: small vendors in rural markets accept UPI for quick P2M purchases, while urban freelancers rely on fast P2P transfers. Read on to explore the full story.

Editor’s Choice

UPI processed 19.47 billion transactions in July 2025, up 35% year-on-year.
Transaction value rose to ₹25.08 trillion in the same month, a 22% increase YoY.
UPI reached 650 million daily transactions, surpassing even Visa’s daily count.
The average daily UPI transactions climbed to 628 million in July, higher than June’s 613 million.
FY 2025 saw an annual total of 185.8 billion UPI transactions, up from 131.1 billion in FY 2024.
NPCI data shows UPI is projected to handle 1 billion daily transactions by FY 2027.
Monthly UPI volume consistently hovers around 18–19 billion transactions, cementing India’s lead in global real-time payments.

Recent Developments

Authorities are considering a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) between 0.2% and 0.3% on large merchant transactions to sustain investment in payment firms.
By July 2025, UPI’s daily transaction count surpassed Visa, positioning India at the forefront of real-time payments.
IMF reports confirm India leads global fast-payments volume, driven by approximately 18 billion UPI transactions monthly.
NPCI’s product stats show that July 2025 hosted 684 banks live on UPI with 19,467.95 million transactions and ₹25,08,498.09 crore in volume and value.
June 2025 saw 18.4 billion transactions worth ₹24 trillion, a 32% volume and 20% value YoY rise.
Digital channels like IMPS and AePS show mixed trends, IMPS value up, volume down, AePS likewise modest shifts.

UPI Transaction Volume Statistics

July 2025: ~19.47 billion transactions.
June 2025: 18.40 billion, nearly 32% growth from June 2024 (~13.8 billion).
Average daily transactions: June, 613 million; July, 628 million.
FY 2025 annual total: 185.8 billion, up from 131.1 billion in FY 2024.
Monthly volume consistently falls between 18 and 19 billion transactions.
NPCI’s July data lists 19,467.95 million as the monthly volume.
Suggests strong upward momentum vs. prior years, FY 2023 had 83.76 billion; FY 2022 had 45.97 billion.

How Consumers Fund Their Mobile/Digital Wallets

Debit cards are the most common funding method after bank accounts, used by 27% of consumers.
Credit cards account for 23% of mobile wallet funding, highlighting strong card-based adoption.
Prepaid cards represent 6% of funding sources.
Bank accounts are the single largest method, with 35% of consumers linking them to their wallets.
Mobile contracts or prepaid account balances are used by 7% of users.
Other methods make up 2% of funding sources.
Cards in total (debit, credit, and prepaid) make up 56% of mobile wallet funding globally.
Card-heavy markets include Australia (70%), the USA (70%), the UK (67%), India (56%), Brazil (53%), China (46%), and Thailand (25%).

UPI Transaction Value Statistics

July 2025 value: ₹25.08 trillion.
June 2025 value: ₹24.04 trillion, 20% YoY increase.
Value growth from FY 2024 (₹199.89 trillion) to FY 2025 is significant.
Daily average value scales with daily transaction spikes.
Value aligns with volume trends, supporting UPI’s expanding economic role.
Larger ticket transactions still exist, but lower-value transfers are rising, bringing volume up fast.

UPI Growth Rates and Historical Trends

UPI has seen a 52% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in volume over the last three years.
From just 21.3 million transactions in 2017, UPI has scaled to 185.8 billion in FY 2025.
Transaction value has grown from ₹69,407 crore in 2017 to ₹250.8 trillion in 2025.
UPI grew 15 times in transaction volume between FY 2020 and FY 2025.
Growth during 2022–2024 was driven by QR expansion, smartphone penetration, and merchant cashbacks.
India accounted for 46% of global real-time digital payment transactions in 2023, largely driven by UPI.
UPI’s scalability has helped it dominate both low-ticket P2P and high-ticket business use cases.
Market projections estimate UPI to hit 1 billion daily transactions by FY 2027, supported by AI and interoperability upgrades.

UPI Rural vs. Urban Adoption Statistics

In Tier 1 cities, 52% of transactions are merchant payments, compared to 36% P2P transfers.
In Tier 4 towns and villages, P2P payments dominate, accounting for 55% of UPI usage.
Rural areas saw a 47% YoY increase in UPI adoption in FY 2025.
Over 4 million kirana stores now accept UPI in semi-urban and rural belts.
According to regional reports and NPCI promotional campaigns, government-led cashback programs in rural areas have contributed to an estimated 22% increase in UPI merchant adoption, especially among small retailers.
Feature phone users now have access via *123#, helping UPI enter non-smartphone segments.
UPI Lite, rolled out in 2023, now covers 67 million users, mainly in semi-urban zones.
Partnerships with Common Service Centers (CSCs) have expanded reach in low-access districts.

UPI Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Transaction Breakdown

Transactions under ₹500 dominated P2P volume at 57%, showing a preference for micro transfers.
Transfers between ₹501–₹2,000 formed 22% of P2P volume, reflecting moderate-ticket peer use.
P2P transfers above ₹2,000 were 21% of the volume, showing UPI’s acceptance for higher-value peer payments too.

In February 2025, P2P transfers totaled ₹3.2 trillion, highlighting UPI’s widespread use for everyday personal payments.
P2P made up 37% of total UPI transaction volume in February, while P2M accounted for the remaining 63%.
As of mid-2025, 36% of UPI transactions were P2P, consistent with February’s trend.
In Tier 1 cities, 36% of UPI usage was P2P, reinforcing this behavior across urban segments.

UPI Peer-to-Merchant (P2M) Transaction Breakdown

P2M transactions hit ₹6.8 trillion in March 2025, which signals growing retail acceptance.
P2M accounted for 63% of UPI volume in February, dominating transaction share.
Low-value merchant payments under ₹500 made up 86% of P2M volume.
Mid-tier merchant payments (₹501–₹2,000) were 10%, covering groceries and utility bills.
High-value merchant transactions above ₹2,000 formed just 4%, likely due to alternative channels like net banking.
In Tier 1 cities, 52% of UPI usage was for merchant payments.
POS and merchant acceptance are expanding rapidly, lowering dependence on cash and cards.

UPI Average Transaction Value (ATV) Trends

According to payments industry insights, high-value UPI transactions exceeding ₹50,000 increased by approximately 24% in the first half of 2025, suggesting growing consumer confidence in the platform for large-value transfers.
The surge in higher-value transfers pulls average transaction value upward even as micro-payments remain dominant.
Monthly average values are steadily growing, matching trends in total volume and value.
The mix of high-value and micro-ticket transfers suggests diversification in UPI usage.
No explicit daily ATV has been published yet; however, total value growth supports rising per-transfer averages.

Global Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Market

The global ATM market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% between 2025 and 2029.
The market will see an incremental growth of $6.19 billion during this period.
APAC will contribute 62% of the total market growth, making it the largest regional driver.
Growth in 2025 alone is projected at 4.2%.

UPI Merchant Acceptance and Penetration

UPI continues to expand into merchant ecosystems, particularly small and local retailers.
In Q1 2025, more than 1.4 million merchants reportedly accepted digital vouchers through platforms like e-RUPI, supported by government schemes and NPCI partnerships.
Festive cashback promotions in late 2024 and early 2025 are estimated to have contributed to a 31% spike in UPI volumes during peak shopping periods, according to industry analysts.
The NPCI platform statistics show the inclusion of hundreds of banks and PSPs facilitating merchant payments.
Merchant discount rate (MDR) proposals of 0.2–0.3% may influence future penetration and sustainability.
In Tier 1 cities, UPI merchant transactions accounted for 52% of usage, highlighting wide acceptance.
Partnerships with platforms like IMPS, e-commerce, and billers continue to deepen UPI’s merchant presence.

ATM Transaction Volume Statistics

In March 2025, ATM cash withdrawals via debit cards were ~488 million transactions, a small dip from February’s ~492 million.
On average, monthly ATM usage is around 490 million transactions, reflecting stable demand.
CMS Info Systems noted average cash dispensed per ATM rose from ₹1.02 crore (FY17) to ₹1.30 crore (FY25).
Compared to FY2020’s ₹28.9 lakh crore, FY2025 cash withdrawals via ATMs in India rose marginally to ₹30.6 lakh crore.
Some states (Bihar, Delhi, UP, Himachal Pradesh) recorded up to 8% increase in ATM usage.
Despite digital growth, cash withdrawal demand remains resilient, especially for small-value needs.

ATM Transaction Value Statistics

ATM disbursement volume in value terms reached ₹30.6 lakh crore in FY2025, slightly higher than ₹28.9 lakh crore in FY2020.
Average per-ATM disbursement climbed to ₹1.30 crore in FY2025, up from ₹1.02 crore in FY2017.
Volume and value both echo slow-burning but steady reliance on cash.

UPI Market Share

PhonePe leads the UPI market with a 48.4% share.
Google Pay holds the second-largest share at 36.9%.
Paytm accounts for 6.9% of UPI transactions.
Navi captures 1.4% of the market.
CRED holds a 0.8% share, while Super Money has 0.7%.
Amazon Pay represents 0.6% of UPI usage.
Other platforms collectively make up 4.2% of the market.

ATM Withdrawal Frequency and Ticket Size

~490 million ATM debit card transactions recorded in March 2025.
ATM visit frequency remains significant despite UPI growth, especially in areas less served digitally.
Averages point to periodic usage, not daily, for most users.
Rising per-ATM disbursement (₹1.30 crore average) indicates larger ticket withdrawals or fewer but higher-value transactions.
Usage growth by state suggests some regions are still heavily cash-reliant.

ATM Adoption Rates and Decline Trends

The total number of ATMs in India dropped to 215,000 in 2024, down from 219,000 in the previous year.
By September 2024, the ATM count stood at 255,078, down from 257,940 a year earlier, a decline of just above 1%.
Rural ATMs saw the sharpest decrease, 54,186 at the end of September, a 2.2% drop.
Metro areas also experienced a decline, with 67,224 ATMs, down 1.6%.
Despite growing cash demand, ATM numbers are plateauing or falling, suggesting banks may be reallocating resources.
CMS Info Systems reports that average cash dispensed per ATM increased from ₹1.02 crore (FY2017) to ₹1.30 crore (FY2025), indicating heavy reliance on fewer ATMs.
The shift may reflect a banking pivot towards branch expansion and digital-first strategies over ATM proliferation.

ATM Security and Fraud Statistics

Skimming attacks accounted for 77% of ATM fraud cases in 2025, although EMV chip adoption is helping reduce risks.
In regional data (FY 2018–19), 25% of ATM card users in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka experienced online fraud.
Certain cities (like Chandigarh) have seen a fivefold rise in ATM and card fraud cases over one year.
Common threats include physical attacks, skimming devices, and theft near ATMs.
Global ATM security spending reflects growing concern, estimated at USD 24.9 billion in 2025, projected to reach USD 32.7 billion by 2034 (CAGR 6.8%).
The ATM Security Committee is proactively addressing fraud, cyber threats, and physical attacks.
Such numbers highlight that, while security systems advance, vulnerabilities remain a persistent concern.

UPI vs. ATM: Transaction Share Comparison

UPI processes over 18 billion transactions per month, outpacing all other electronic retail payment modes.
Conversely, ATM withdrawals declined by 14% YoY in May 2025.
A recent survey found ATM usage dropped by 30%, with many users preferring UPI and mobile wallets for routine transactions.
The contrast indicates a deep shift, with UPI gaining dominance, while ATM use recedes.
UPI’s growth is outpacing declines in debit/credit card use and ATM withdrawals across the board.
Monthly trends show UPI’s real-time ease is significantly eclipsing ATM share.
The fundamental story, UPI is now redefining everyday payments, while ATMs hold a shrinking fraction of the pie.

UPI vs. ATM: User Preferences and Behavioral Trends

A 2024 consumer behavior study found that approximately 74% of surveyed users acknowledged increased spending due to UPI’s ease of use and perceived ‘low-friction’ nature.
Only 7% reported reduced spending, while 95% found UPI convenient.
Behavioral studies confirm UPI users are swift, repeat users, whereas ATM users are episodic and need-bound.
Digital payment accessibility is influencing spending habits and reducing cash reliance.
MSMEs in semi-urban and rural India, 73% report business growth through digital tools, with UPI as the most preferred method.
Tamil Nadu plans UPI rollout across 37,328 ration shops, reinforcing UPI’s reach.
As trust and comfort with UPI grows, User preferences strongly tilt toward digital, not cash.

UPI vs. ATM: Impact on Financial Inclusion

UPI has deepened financial inclusion, especially when built on the foundation of the Jan Dhan scheme’s 55.83 crore bank accounts as of July 9, 2025.
Today, 89% of Indians have a financial account, up from 35% in 2011, partly driven by UPI.
UPI serves as an entry point for broader digital finance services, like credit, insurance, and investment products.
UPI’s role in digital payments has contributed to the formalization of the economy, enhanced tax compliance, and indirectly supported GDP growth through increased transaction transparency.
MSMEs report improved income and efficiency through UPI adoption, a powerful sign for inclusion.
UPI payments in ration shops strengthen transparency in public benefit distribution.
Overall, UPI is bridging access gaps between urban and rural users, in stark contrast to cash-dependent ATMs.

Conclusion

Digital payments are no longer niche; they’re reshaping India’s entire financial fabric. UPI’s meteoric rise, from financial inclusion to transaction convenience, has eclipsed the static, declining role of ATMs. ATMs remain relevant for cash access, especially in underserved regions, but they now serve a shrinking share of everyday transactions. From transaction share and user behavior to merchant adoption and inclusion, UPI leads with clarity.