The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) continues to dominate India’s digital payments landscape, contributing 85% of total payment volumes in the first half of calendar year 2025 (H1 CY25), according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest Payment System Report. Despite this high volume, UPI’s share in total transaction value is only 9%, highlighting its predominant use for small-ticket retail payments.
UPI has firmly established itself as the leading retail fast payment system (FPS) in India due to its round-the-clock availability, user-friendly interface, and instant settlement features. The number of UPI transactions has seen exponential growth, rising from 10.79 billion in CY19 to 172.21 billion in CY24. Transaction values also increased from $210 billion in CY19 to $2.8 trillion in CY24. During H1 CY25 alone, UPI transactions reached 106.37 billion, valued at $1.6 trillion, reflecting a continued preference for low-value, high-frequency retail payments.
In contrast, the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, primarily used for high-value transfers, accounted for the largest share of transaction value at 69% but represented just 0.1% of overall transaction volume. With a minimum transfer threshold of $2,280, RTGS remains the preferred channel for wholesale payments. RBI data shows RTGS transactions achieved a compounded annual growth rate of 13.7% in volume and 13.78% in value between 2020-21 and 2024-25. Notably, transactions conducted outside business hours (6 PM–8 AM) made up 19% of volume and 16% of value by CY24, underlining the increasing adoption of the 24/7 RTGS system.
The report notes that customer-initiated RTGS transactions account for over 99% of total volume and 89% of total value, encompassing both retail and corporate payments. Average transaction sizes for RTGS have varied over the years, declining between CY11 and CY15, rising until CY18, and dropping sharply after CY19, followed by a gradual increase post-CY22. Approximately 75% of customer RTGS transactions fall between $2,280 and $11,405, while interbank transfers are generally larger, with over half ranging from $11,405 to $285,095.
These insights highlight the complementary roles of UPI and RTGS in India’s payment ecosystem: UPI facilitates high-volume, small-value retail transactions, while RTGS handles critical high-value transfers, supporting the country’s growing digital economy.
