India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has achieved a historic milestone by surpassing Visa, the global card giant, in daily transaction volume. As of June 2025, UPI is processing over 650 million transactions daily, overtaking Visa’s fiscal year 2024 average of approximately 640 million transactions per day. This development cements UPI’s status as the world’s leading real-time payment system and marks a transformative moment in the evolution of digital payments.
UPI’s journey to the top has been nothing short of extraordinary. Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI was designed to unify and simplify digital transactions across the country. In less than a decade, UPI has not only become the preferred payment method for millions of Indians but has also set new global standards for payment platforms.
In terms of value, UPI’s dominance is even more pronounced. In May 2025, the platform processed transactions worth ₹25.14 lakh crore, which was 12 times the combined value of all card payments in India.
UPI is a product of Indian innovation, designed to address the unique needs of a vast and diverse population. The platform has democratized digital payments, reaching urban and rural users alike, and supporting India’s vision of a cashless economy. UPI’s real-time, interoperable model is now being studied and adopted by several countries, positioning India as a global fintech leader.
UPI enables instant, 24/7 money transfers using mobile devices, with seamless integration across banks and third-party apps like Google Pay and PhonePe. Regulatory support and public campaigns have accelerated adoption, with the government and NPCI targeting one billion daily transactions in the near future.
UPI’s adaptability to recurring payments, QR code transactions, and merchant acceptance has fueled widespread usage.
UPI’s overtaking of Visa in daily transaction volume is a landmark achievement for India’s digital economy. It underscores the power of indigenous innovation in shaping global financial technology and sets a new benchmark for real-time payment systems worldwide. As UPI continues to expand, both in India and internationally, it is poised to redefine the future of digital payments.
