Daily UPI transactions surge to 596 million in April, value touches Rs 24 lakh crore

New Delhi: The number of daily Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in the country rose to 596 million in April, up from 590 million in March, according to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) figures released on Thursday.

Transactions worth Rs 24 lakh crore were carried out in April, down from Rs 24.8 lakh crore in the previous month. This is the 12th consecutive month to record payments above Rs 20 lakh crore.

The pace of growth remained healthy at 34.5 per cent, despite a 50.7 per cent annualised increase in volumes in April 2024. The value of transactions rose 21.9 per cent from the year-ago period.

Daily transaction volumes were also higher for FASTag payments, used for parking and toll collection, at 12.75 million compared with 12.2 million in the previous month, reflecting the growth in the economic activity of the country.

FASTag transactions jumped by a robust 17 per cent compared to 12 per cent in the previous month. The total value of these transactions rose to Rs 227 crore, up from Rs 219 crore in March.

Daily volumes for IMPS, another payment medium under the aegis of NPCI, which operates UPI, were also higher at 14.98 million compared to 14.89 million in March.

Meanwhile, the NPCI has tightened the response timelines for UPI transactions to enhance user experience and reduce delays. In a circular dated April 26, NPCI directed banks and payment apps to implement quicker processing standards across various UPI services with effect from June 16 this year.

The move aims to cut delays in payment processing, transaction verification, and reversals. NPCI has advised all participating entities to ensure that these faster timelines do not lead to an increase in technical declines or service disruptions.

For request pay and response pay (debit and credit), the revised response time will be 15 seconds instead of 30 seconds earlier, as per the NPCI circular.

For transaction reversal, the existing response time is 30 seconds, which will now be reduced to 10 seconds

In case a person wants to validate the address, the revised response time will be 10 seconds instead of 15 seconds.

–IANS