The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction volume rose 23 per cent year-on-year to 24.07 billion in September, while the transaction value increased 18 per cent to Rs 29.37 lakh crore, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday.
On an average, UPI processed around 802 million transactions daily in September, with the average daily transaction value standing at about Rs 97,913 crore.
In August, UPI transaction volume had increased 22 per cent year-on-year to 24.51 billion, while transaction value rose 20 per cent to Rs 29.82 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, the value of transactions through the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) stood at Rs 7.06 lakh crore in September, registering an 18 per cent year-on-year increase. The average daily IMPS transaction count was 11.80 million, with the average daily transaction value at Rs 23,530 crore, the NPCI data showed.
Separately, leading traders’ bodies have withdrawn their call to observe October 2 as a “No UPI Day” following a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the national capital.
A delegation of around 20 trade representatives from various states met the Finance Minister to raise concerns over the proposed 0.4 per cent fee on merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000.
The traders said the move could increase the burden on small and medium businesses and affect the adoption of digital payments among merchants.
The delegation was led by Praveen Khandelwal, Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk and Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
Under the new framework, Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) applies only to person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions above Rs 2,000. Transactions up to Rs 2,000 will continue to have zero MDR and, consequently, no GST impact arising from MDR.
Government data indicates that transactions of up to Rs 2,000 account for more than 96 per cent of UPI merchant transaction volume. As a result, the overwhelming majority of UPI payments will not attract MDR and, therefore, no GST on MDR.
Merchants with monthly UPI receipts of up to Rs 1 lakh are also not liable to pay MDR and, consequently, do not face the issue of GST on MDR.