According to a survey, transaction volumes for the instant payment system Unified Payment Interface (UPI) increased by 52 percent year on year to 78.97 billion in the first six months of 2024. Worldline, a payment technology service provider, stated on Thursday in its India Digital Payments Report for the first half of 2024 (January to June) that UPI continues to dominate the payment sector while significantly increasing its reach.

"The number of UPI transactions increased dramatically, from 8.03 billion in January 2023 to 13.9 billion in June 2024. This increase in volume was accompanied by an increase in transaction value, which jumped from Rs 12.98 trillion in January 2023 to an astonishing Rs20.07 trillion in June 2024.                                                                                                                                                        "When comparing H1 2024 to the same period in 2023, UPI transaction volume saw a substantial increase of 52 percent, rising from 51.9 billion to 78.97 billion," according to the report.

The value of transactions increased by 40%, from Rs 83.16 trillion to Rs 116.63 trillion. In terms of volume and value contribution, PhonePe was the leading UPI app, followed by Google Pay and Paytm.

However, the average ticket size (ATS) of UPI transactions declined by 8%, according to the research. The average ticket size (ATS) of all UPI transactions in H1 2023 was Rs 1,603, but it fell to Rs 1,478 in H1 2024, according to the report. ATS includes both person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.

ATS in P2P transactions increased practically flat year on year, from Rs 2,812 to Rs 2,836. ATS for P2M transactions fell from Rs 667 to Rs 643, reflecting a 4% decrease.

"This significant rise in UPI transactions, particularly in the person-to-merchant (P2M) segment, further cements its position as the preferred method for micro-transactions, demonstrating long-term sustainability and even movement to larger transactions in the coming years," stated Ramesh Narasimhan,  CEO at Worldline India.

In the first half of 2024, the most popular in-store merchant categories included grocery shops, restaurants, gas stations, clothes stores, government services, pharmacies, and hospitals. According to the findings, they accounted for over 53% of total transaction value and 68% of transaction volume.

E-commerce, gambling, utilities, government services, and financial services accounted for around 81% of the total transaction volume and 74% of the total transaction value in the online sector. Furthermore, the survey stated that between January 2023 and June 2024, the number of POS (point of sale) terminals grew by 17%, from 7.65 million to 8.96 million.