Digital payment transactions via Unified Payments Interface (UPI), regained its pace in the month of June with total such payments in reaching 1.34 billion in terms of volume with transactions worth nearly Rs 2.62 lakh crore, National Payments Corp of India (NPCI) data showed.
Reports suggest that the volumes had plunged nearly 60 per cent in April after the nationwide lockdown was announced to combat the deadly coronavirus. The number of transactions during the month was recorded at 999 million worth Rs 1.51 lakh crore, the first full month after the announcement of the lockdown that halted almost all services, except essentials.
In May, the online payments regained its strength, with staggered opening of the economy. During the month, the number of UPI transactions stood at 1.23 billion valued at Rs 2.13 lakh crore, showed the NPCI data.
NPCI was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. It has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country.
It facilitates payments through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay Card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), UPI, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC Fastag) and Bharat BillPay.
NPCI also launched UPI 2.0 to offer more secure and comprehensive services to consumers and merchants.
Separately, card based transactions have also gained momentum with their volumes and value increasing to meet the pre-COVID period.