UPI at 10: How India’s homegrown payment system transformed the way the country transacts

August 25, 2026 11:54 AM

UPI at 10: How India’s homegrown payment system transformed the way the country transacts

In a decade, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has moved from being a new digital payment mechanism to becoming an integral part of everyday life in India. From small-value payments at neighbourhood shops to bank transfers and cross-border transactions, UPI has fundamentally changed the country's digital payments landscape. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI was conceived as an interoperable, simple and secure platform that could bring multiple banking servic...

Unified Payments Interface at 10: UPI emerges as world’s largest real-time payments platform, anchoring India’s digital economy

April 30, 2026 9:55 PM

Unified Payments Interface at 10: UPI emerges as world’s largest real-time payments platform, anchoring India’s digital economy

A decade after its launch, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has transformed from a fledgling digital experiment into the world’s largest real-time payments platform, powering nearly half of global instant payment transactions and redefining how India pays, saves and transacts. Launched on April 11, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), UPI today stands as the backbone of India’s digital economy - driv...