Festive surge drives UPI near record ₹29.8 lakh crore milestone across 24.5 billion transactions

Transactions processed through India’s popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI) neared record-high levels in August, reaching ₹29.8 lakh crore, according to data released on Tuesday by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The platform previously recorded its peak transaction value of ₹29.9 lakh crore in both May and July 2026.

In terms of volume, UPI set a fresh record by handling 24.51 billion transactions in August. This marks a significant jump from 23.66 billion in July, 22.72 billion in June, and 23.2 billion in May.


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On an annual basis, transaction value rose by 20 percent compared to the ₹24.85 lakh crore recorded in August 2025. Transaction volume similarly experienced a 22 percent Year-over-Year (YoY) expansion, climbing from 19.63 billion in the same month last year.

Industry experts attribute the impressive August performance to the onset of the festive season and expanding consumer adoption.

"The volume growth in August was further bolstered by festive activity such as Raksha Bandhan, which naturally drove a surge in everyday peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and small-ticket gifting, and consistent aggregate transaction value with an increase in volume over the past three months underscores the expanding reach and depth of the UPI ecosystem," said Reeju Datta, co-founder of Cashfree Payments. Looking ahead, he added, "the upcoming festive season presents an exciting growth frontier."

Addressing the technical roadmap needed to support this rapid scale, Deepak Chand Thakur, co-founder and CEO of Network People Services Technologies (NPST), emphasized the importance of underlying digital systems.

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"As the festive season approaches and new use cases such as credit on UPI start to mature, continued investment in resilient, intelligent infrastructure will be key to sustaining India's leadership in digital payments," Thakur said.

Beyond domestic market dominance, UPI continues to extend its footprint internationally. The payment system is now accepted across 11 countries, with Uzbekistan being the latest nation to integrate the network. The remaining overseas markets accepting UPI include:

• Singapore
• United Arab Emirates
• France
• Mauritius
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Qatar
• Sri Lanka
• Cambodia
• Greece

Run by the NPCI, an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks' Association (IBA)- UPI facilitates real-time payments for both peer-to-peer transfers and merchant purchases.

Since its launch on August 25, 2016, UPI has completely reshaped India's financial landscape. Annual transaction values have surged from ₹0.07 lakh crore in FY17 to approximately ₹314 lakh crore in FY26, representing a more than 4,000-fold increase over the past decade.