Key Highlights
- UPI and IMPS volumes fell in February, primarily because the month has fewer days.
- Despite the monthly dip, UPI posted a 33% year‑on‑year surge in transaction count.
- FASTag volumes rose modestly (1% MoM) and kept its upward trajectory year over year.
- AePS maintained flat transaction numbers while its value grew 2% MoM, delivering double‑digit YoY growth.
- Daily transaction averages rose for all four systems, underscoring growing user adoption.
Detailed Insights
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) reported that February’s shortened calendar contributed to a 5% month‑on‑month (MoM) decline in UPI volume, falling from 16.99 billion in January to 16.11 billion. Transaction value slipped 6.5% to ₹21.48 trillion. Nevertheless, YoY figures remain robust, with a 33% increase in volume and a 20% rise in value versus February 2024.
IMPS mirrored the downward MoM pattern, with volume dropping 9% to 405 million and value falling 7% to ₹5.63 trillion. YoY, IMPS volume contracted 24% and value slipped 1%, suggesting a user shift toward UPI for real‑time transfers.
FASTag defied the overall dip, posting a 1% MoM increase to 384 million transactions. Although its February value (₹6,601 crore) was marginally lower than January’s, YoY growth remained strong at 19% in volume and 18% in value, reflecting wider acceptance of electronic toll collection.
AePS exhibited stability in transaction count (94 million) with a 2% MoM rise in value to ₹24,410 crore. Year‑on‑year, it achieved 14% volume growth and an 11% lift in value, highlighting its expanding role in financially underserved rural and semi‑urban locales.
Daily averages in February were 14.46 million for UPI (value ₹20,110 crore), 13.71 million for FASTag (value ₹236 crore), and 3.37 million for AePS, all registering modest upticks from the preceding month.
Key Concepts
- Month‑on‑Month (MoM) Change: The percentage difference in a metric compared with the preceding calendar month.
- Year‑on‑Year (YoY) Growth: The percentage change of a metric relative to the same month in the previous year.
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI): A real‑time payment system that enables inter‑bank transfers via mobile devices.
- Immediate Payment Service (IMPS): An NPCI‑run platform that facilitates instant inter‑bank fund transfers across India.
- FASTag: An RFID‑based electronic toll collection system linked to a prepaid account.
- Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS): A cashless service that leverages Aadhaar biometric authentication for banking transactions.