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UPI transactions surge 35% in H1 2025 to whopping 106B
29 Oct 2025

India's digital payments ecosystem witnessed a massive growth in the first half of 2025, driven by an increase in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) usage and the rapid onboarding of small merchants.

According to Worldline's India Digital Payments Report (H1 2025), UPI transaction volumes grew by a whopping 35% year-on-year to reach over 106 billion transactions.

The total transaction value during this period stood at ₹143.34 trillion.

Person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions rose by 37%
Merchant growth

The report highlighted a significant increase in person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions, which rose by 37% to nearly 67 billion.

This surge indicates that small retailers and local Kirana stores are embracing digital payments more than ever before.

Worldline has dubbed this trend the "Kirana Effect," as micro and small businesses increasingly become the backbone of India's digital acceptance network.

UPI QR network has seen a massive jump
Network expansion

India's UPI QR network has seen a massive jump, more than doubling to 678 million by June 2025. This is an increase of over 111% since January 2024.

The number of point-of-sale (PoS) terminals also grew by 29% to reach over 11 million.

Bharat QR grew by 12% to touch 6.72 million, making India the world's largest merchant acceptance ecosystem, according to the report.

Surge in credit card and mobile payment usage
Payment trends

The report also noted a 23% increase in outstanding credit cards between January 2024 and June 2025.

Monthly credit card spends crossed ₹2.2 trillion, even as average transaction size fell by 6%. This indicates that credit cards are being used more for smaller purchases.

Meanwhile, mobile payments surged by 30% to touch nearly 99 billion transactions worth ₹209.7 trillion, further cementing India's status as a mobile-first payment economy.

Emerging innovations to drive next phase of growth
Future outlook

Worldline envisions that the next phase of growth in digital payments will be driven by biometric and PIN-less UPI, chat-based payments, and global expansion of UPI corridors.

Emerging innovations such as SoftPoS and credit-on-UPI are likely to further bolster digital acceptance and financial inclusion across new segments.

"India's digital payment story is no longer about convenience—it's about empowerment," said Ramesh Narasimhan, CEO of Worldline India.