June saw 30% increase in UPI transactions; highest growth in volume for this year

UPI concluded December 2017 with a remarkable 38 per cent growth in total transaction volume. It hasn't been able to repeat the same as of May 2018. Now the NPCI-payments interface adoption seems to be back on track as it witnessed a 30 per cent growth in UPI transaction volume by June this year.

According to the latest data released by NPCI, the transaction volume for June is hovering around 246.37 million, while transaction value has been recorded at about Rs 40,834.03 crore with 22 per cent growth as compared to the previous month.

In other words, UPI has again come to crest after two months of slow growth. For instance, the volume of the transaction recorded by UPI for May was 189.48 million, while April witnessed 190.08 million transactions. It was also the first ever fall (marginal decrease) in terms of transaction volume for the government initiated payments platform.

NPCI-owned Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) also witnessed a small but significant growth in transaction volume. In June, the instant payments feature recorded 120.49 million transactions with a 3.3 per cent growth in comparison to the previous month.

The real-time inter-bank electronic funds transfer system grew by 6 per cent for 116 million in May.

This is a good sign for the country which emphasises on the Digital India campaign to give a priority to cashless modes of transaction. Contradictorily, a recent data revealed by RBI states India has witnessed a sharp rise in the cash transaction and it shows the need of cash is also growing since demonetisation was announced.

Meanwhile, government flagship product on the UPI platform-- BHIM had been facing tough times despite strong promotions and cashback offers until May this year. However, in last two months, BHIM witnessed a decent growth in volume as well as in value.

In May, BHIM recorded a 12 per cent growth in volume, while June saw a 15 per cent increase in the volume of transaction. During the same month, BHIM grew by 9 per cent (approx) with Rs 6261.25 crore transaction in value.

The government-owned app has already been criticised by third-party payments service providers for its unfair play on cashback offers and incentives.

Taking a swipe against government promotional activities, Mobikwik CEO Bipin Preet Singh has alleged that BHIM UPI gives cashback offers only if you use BHIM app or any bank app for the transaction. Other UPI-enabled platforms such as Mobikwik, PhonePe, Paytm, Google's Tez have been discriminated against, even though they are running on the same platform.

The growth in UPI transaction is expected to rise when WhatsApp comes into play. The Facebook-owned company is delaying its mass launch of payments platform due to privacy concerns raised by regulatory bodies.

Update: The article has been updated with the latest data on BHIM revealed by NPCI.