UPI Transactions September: For the past few days, a news regarding UPI (Unified Payments Interface) data for the month of September has been doing the rounds on social media and many media channels. It is being claimed that the volume of UPI transactions fell by 1.8 percent in September compared to August. Some reports, such as The Tribune, are citing that transactions have declined to 24.07 billion in September after a peak in August. At first glance, it may seem so after looking at the figures, but when you delve deeper into the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data, the truth is quite the opposite.

In fact there has been no decline in the use of UPI. The deficiency observed in the data is only a result of the difference in the days of the month. August has 31 days, while September has only 30 days. This one-day difference has changed the math of the totals.

Understand the math of the days of the month

If we look closely at the NPCI data, there were a total of 24.51 billion transactions in August. With 31 days in August, there were an average of 791 million transactions per day. At the same time, total transactions in the month of September were 24.07 billion. September has 30 days. If we divide 24.07 billion by 30, the daily average comes to 802 million.

That is, while 791 million UPI payments were being made per day in August, the figure rose to 802 million in September. Similarly, the value of transactions has also increased. Average daily in August Rs. 96,205 crore in transactions, which rose to Rs. 97,913 crores. This makes it abundantly clear that the observed 1.5 per cent drop in total value (from Rs 29.82 lakh crore to Rs 29.37 lakh crore) is not due to people using UPI less, but due to one less day in September. September saw a significant growth of 23 percent in UPI volume and 18 percent in value on a year-on-year basis.

Disputes over merchant discount rates

The UPI ecosystem is currently monitoring the Central Government’s new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework. It is to be implemented from October 15. Under the new rules Rs. Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions above 2,000 will be charged MDR of 0.4 percent. If the transaction is Rs. 75,000 or more, the charge shall be subject to a maximum of Rs. Limited to 300. However, person-to-person (P2P) payments will be completely free.

There is an atmosphere of concern among small traders to large retailers over the proposed fees. Industry associations have warned that the charge may cause merchants to avoid using UPI, especially during the festive season when there are larger transactions. For this reason All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) along with All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) announced to observe ‘No UPI Day’ on October 2. However, the protest was withdrawn after a meeting of representatives of 20 trade associations with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

India dominates digital payments

UPI continues to strengthen the foundation of India’s digital payment system. According to NPCI reports, UPI has set several new records in the past few months. The transaction value in July was Rs. 29.9 lakh crore reached a new peak. There were 23.66 billion transactions in July, much higher than May’s 23.2 billion. Anand Kumar Bajaj, MD of PayNearby believes that UPI has become the payment option of choice for millions of Indians.

This success is not limited to India. UPI has started its operation in about 11 countries like UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius and Qatar. This acceptance globally has placed India in a strong position in the global fintech environment. Remittance transfers have increased, making more and more people part of the financial system. NPCI, established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is continuously working to reorient retail payments in India.