Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 11: India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has completed 10 years of its operations, emerging as a landmark innovation that transformed the country’s payment ecosystem and accelerated the shift from a cash-driven economy to a real-time digital payments system.

Launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India, UPI has grown from a pilot initiative into the backbone of India’s digital financial infrastructure, enabling seamless money transfers across banks and platforms.

Over the years, the network has expanded rapidly, with the number of participating banks rising from 216 in 2021 to 691 by January 2026, making transactions more accessible, fast, and interoperable for users across the country.

According to the Ministry of Finance, UPI now accounts for nearly 49 per cent of global real-time payment transaction volume, reflecting its massive scale and global influence. Its efficiency and inclusiveness have also been acknowledged by global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Beyond India, UPI has also expanded its reach internationally, with linkages or operational presence in countries including the UAE, Singapore, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, France, Mauritius, and Qatar.

Today, UPI stands as more than just a payment platform—it has become a people-centric digital infrastructure that has made financial transactions faster, simpler, more transparent, and widely inclusive across millions of users.