Smaller third-party UPI players plan to lobby NPCI for new limits on market leaders like PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm. Their proposals include curbing aggressive user acquisition, tightening monetization and opening merchant services, arguing the long-delayed 30% market share cap hasn’t been implemented. The push could reshape how apps compete for UPI users and merchants.
UPI transactions dipped 1.3% month-on-month to 22.35 billion in April, down from 22.64 billion in March, according to NPCI data. The transaction value also eased to ₹29.03 lakh crore from ₹29.53 lakh crore. Yet on a year-on-year basis, transactions climbed 25% and value rose 21%. Average daily count and value both increased MoM as NPCI held talks with smaller ecosystem players.
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UPI marks its 10th year since launch in April 2016, growing from 2 crore to 24,162 crore transactions and handling a massive share of real-time payments worldwide. Finance Ministry data says 703 banks are now live and UPI processes around 66 crore transactions daily. The IMF has also described UPI as the world’s largest real-time payment system.
Smaller UPI players are set to meet NPCI, arguing that the rapid rise of leaders like PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm needs a fairer framework. In the same tech update, WhatsApp reportedly tightens defenses against scams—raising pressure on platforms and payments ecosystems to improve safeguards while competition heats up.
NPCI’s profits are rising, but banks running UPI payments are struggling to handle the growing transaction load. Industry guidance points to performance upgrades that range from quick, straightforward changes to more complex system overhauls. The goal is to keep UPI processing fast and reliable as volumes surge.
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