New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS): The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform processed 7.3 billion transactions in the month of October, a record high as India witnessed a bumper festive season.

According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI processed 7.3 billion transactions worth Rs 12.11 trillion in October.

The volume was up 73 per cent while the value of transactions was up 57 per cent (year-over-year).

"UPI has been a game changer in real-time payments and is the most preferred choice of payment. UPI platform recorded 6.8 billion transactions in September 2022 and the festive month gave further boost with transactions reaching 7.3 billion in October," said Sanjeev Chandak, Co-founder and CEO of fintech platform ftcash.

"Digitisation is enabling India to become a cashless economy and the surge in UPI transactions mirrors this upward trajectory towards digitisation," he added.

Launched in 2016, UPI crossed 1 billion transactions in October 2019.

In FY23 to date, the UPI has processed 44.32 billion transactions worth Rs 75 trillion.

Nearly 76 per cent Indians now prefer using UPI (unified payments interface) during online checkouts while more millennials (84 per cent) are now using UPI when shopping online, a report showed on Tuesday.

As the physical, digital and virtual worlds are converging, Indians are willing to explore and purchase within apps/browsers as well from the social media platforms, according to new research from financial services technology provider FIS.