New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said digital payments growth in India has accelerated rapidly due to coordinated efforts by the Government, the Reserve Bank of India and the National Payments Corporation of India.
She shared the details in the Lok Sabha while outlining the expansion of retail digital payment transactions in recent years. According to the data, total retail digital payments rose from 7,176.90 crore transactions in FY 2021-22 to 22,167.90 crore in FY 2024-25.
The value of these transactions also increased significantly during the period. It rose from ₹457.44 lakh crore in FY 2021-22 to ₹849.12 lakh crore in FY 2024-25.
Unified Payments Interface has emerged as the world’s largest real-time retail payment system. In FY 2024-25, UPI accounted for 81 percent of total retail digital payment transactions in the country.
Officials attributed the digital payments growth to wider smartphone use, Aadhaar-enabled authentication and simplified e-KYC procedures. Financial inclusion and expansion of merchant payment infrastructure in urban and rural areas also contributed to the rise.
Government initiatives such as the Incentive Scheme for Promotion of Digital Payments and the Payment Infrastructure Development Fund have further supported the expansion.
Digital payments growth supported by security and rural infrastructure measures
Authorities also acknowledged certain challenges linked to the rapid digital payments growth. These include cyber security risks, digital literacy gaps and network connectivity issues.
To address fraud risks, the government, RBI and NPCI introduced multiple security features. These include device binding between the mobile number and device, two-factor authentication through PIN and daily transaction limits.
NPCI also provides banks with an artificial intelligence and machine learning-based fraud monitoring system. This system generates alerts and blocks suspicious transactions.
Citizens can report cyber fraud through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and the helpline number 1930. The Department of Telecommunications has also introduced the Digital Intelligence Platform and the “Chakshu” facility to report suspicious calls or messages.
Meanwhile, the Payment Infrastructure Development Fund has expanded payment infrastructure in rural and remote areas. About 5.80 crore digital touchpoints and nearly 56.86 crore QR codes have been deployed under the scheme.
For users in low connectivity areas, NPCI launched UPI 123PAY for feature phones and Hello UPI for conversational payments. Authorities have also strengthened financial awareness programmes through 2,421 Centres for Financial Literacy across the country.
