What changed, why it matters, and what most people may be overlooking.
NPCI has added phone-to-terminal payments that can work with little or no connectivity, extending UPI beyond QR scans just as Apple Pay prepares for a wider India launch.
India’s payments utility generated ₹4,240 crore in revenue, yet surplus dropped to ₹989 crore as taxes, marketing and the BHIM ecosystem absorbed more of UPI’s scale.
NPCI is developing an identity registry for approved payment agents, but authentication solves only one layer; consent, liability and reversibility remain the harder market questions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants UPI linked with more national payment systems; the real test is whether domestic scale can become low-cost cross-border utility.