PhonePe, G-Pay see decline in UPI transactions in Sept; gaming payments collapse

September witnessed a steady performance in India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem, with a total of 19,633.43 million transactions processed during the month. While transaction volumes saw a marginal decline compared to August, the total value of payments rose slightly to Rs 24,89,736.54 crore.

PhonePe retained its position as the market leader, accounting for around 45.6% of the total transaction volume and 48.4% of the total transaction value. Google Pay followed with a 34.8% share by volume and 35.1% by value, while Paytm held the third spot with 7.1% of the volume and 5.8% of the value.

Comparing these figures to August, PhonePe's market share by volume saw a slight decrease from 45.74% to 45.6%, while its share by value remained stable at 48.4%. Google Pay experienced a marginal decline in both volume and value market shares, from 35.30% and 35.55% respectively in August to 34.8% and 35.1% in September. Paytm's market share remained relatively unchanged, with a slight increase from 7.0% in August to 7.1% by volume.

The trio reached peak volumes of 9 billion, 7 billion, and 1.4 billion in August, respectively.

Emerging players such as Navi and super.money expanded their presence in the UPI space, though their market shares remain modest. Navi recorded 2.7% of transaction volume and just over 1% of value, while super.money accounted for 1.3% of volume and 0.4% of value.

Axis Bank Apps, CRED, BHIM, FamApp by Trio, and Amazon Pay together contributed the remaining volume and value, with CRED standing out with a 2.2% share by value despite a lower transaction volume.

In September, groceries and supermarkets led UPI merchant categories with 3,126.25 million transactions worth Rs 66,409 crore. Fast food outlets, restaurants, fuel stations, telecom, and utility payments also saw strong activity, reflecting continued consumer reliance on UPI for both essential and everyday purchases.

Importantly, transactions for digital goods, including gaming, fell drastically. The actual numbers, including transactions related to the purchase of in-game currency, cosmetic skins, and virtual real estate, might have been included in other transactions reported by NPCI. This decline can be attributed to the Indian government’s ban on real-money gaming platforms in mid-August.

Update: The earlier version of the headline and story mentioned zero transactions from digital goods. However, these may be included in other transactions in NPCI data. The information has been updated accordingly.