'Every Indian must be proud': PM Modi marks 10 years of UPI and digital payments revolution

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday marked 10 years of the Unified Payments Interface UPI highlighting the scale of Indias digital payments network and describing its growth over the past decade as an achievement every Indian can be proud ofPM Modi said the launch of UPI had marked a major turning point in the countrys digital payments journey and urged people to share their experiences of using the platform and how it had affected their daily livesTaking to X PM Modi said A decade ago UPI was rolled out marking a major turning point in Indias digital payments journey The sheer scale and reach of UPI are something every Indian must be proud ofUPI transforms Indias digital payments landscapeDeveloped by the National Payments Corporation of India NPCI UPI has become a central part of Indias digital payments ecosystem over the past decadeThe realtime payment system has expanded rapidly allowing users to transfer money directly between bank accounts through mobile devices Its widespread adoption has also changed how consumers and businesses make and receive payments from everyday retail transactions to larger digital transfersUPI has also expanded beyond Indias borders and is currently accepted in 11 countries Greece and the Maldives are the latest countries to adopt Indias realtime payment platformUPI expands global footprintAccording to the official factsheet UPI is operational in Bhutan Nepal Singapore the United Arab Emirates France Sri Lanka Mauritius and Qatar enabling crossborder digital paymentsThe international expansion has been accompanied by a sharp increase in domestic usage with the platform recording substantial growth in both transaction volumes and valueThe figures underline the scale at which digital payments have been adopted in India over the past decade with UPI becoming a major channel for retail paymentsTransactions rise nearly 12000foldUPIs annual transaction volume increased nearly 12000fold between 201617 and 202526 according to the official factsheet released on MondayAnnual transactions increased from 2 crore in 201617 to more than 24162 crore in 202526The value of transactions also recorded a substantial increase during the period Annual transaction value rose from Rs 007 lakh crore to nearly Rs 314 lakh crore representing an increase of more than 4000 timesThe network has continued to expand in the current financial year In July 2026 UPI comprised 741 live banks and processed 23658 crore transactions worth Rs 2987 lakh croreUPI accounts for nearly half of global realtime paymentsIndias UPI network has also emerged as a significant part of the global realtime payments landscapeUPI accounted for nearly 49 per cent of global realtime payment transaction volume in 2024 according to the official information The scale of Indias system was also highlighted by the International Monetary Fund in its report Growing Retail Digital Payments The Value of InteroperabilityThe growth has strengthened Indias position in the global digital payments space and has led to increasing interest in interoperable realtime payment systemsNew authentication features expand accessThe UPI ecosystem has also added new authentication options aimed at making digital payments easier and more accessibleOndevice authentication was introduced for UPI in 2025 allowing users to authorise payments through smartphone fingerprint or faceunlock featuresAadhaarbased face authentication has also been introduced to simplify UPI PIN onboarding The feature is particularly intended to help firsttime users senior citizens and people who may not have easy access to payment cardsModi invites Indians to share UPI experiencesAs UPI completes a decade Modi has sought to highlight not only the growth in transaction volumes but also its impact on everyday financial transactionsThe Prime Minister urged citizens to share their experiences of using UPI and explain how the payment platform had changed their livesOver the past 10 years UPI has evolved from a new digital payment platform into a widely used part of Indias financial infrastructure while its expansion into international markets has given the system a growing presence beyond the countryWith inputs from IANS