India and Nepal have launched a peer-to-peer (P2P) cross-border remittance mechanism, linking India's UPI with Nepal's NPI. This system allows real-time money transfers via mobile banking, enhancing convenience for travellers and businesses, fostering financial inclusion, and strengthening economic ties between the two nations.
Zelle, a major US peer-to-peer payment service, is set to launch in India by the end of this year, marking its first international expansion. The move aims to tap into India's large remittance market, offering a service similar to UPI but integrated with bank apps. Zelle also introduced ZelleUSD, a stablecoin for future global payment capabilities.
Parliament was informed that UPI has onboarded 55.49 crore users by June 2026, with transactions reaching 24,162 crore in volume and Rs 314 lakh crore in value in FY 2025-26. The platform, operated by NPCI, is expanding internationally through NIPL, facilitating cross-border payments and assisting other nations in building similar systems. Significant efforts are also underway by the Government, RBI, and NPCI to enhance the security and transparency of UPI transactions, including risk-based limits, security frameworks, and public awareness campaigns against cyber-crime.
UPI transactions in India reached record highs in May, driven by summer travel and the IPL, with transaction value hitting Rs 29.90 lakh crore and volume reaching 23.2 billion.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions moderated slightly in June from a record high in May, reaching Rs 28.9 lakh crore. Despite a month-on-month decrease in volume, the daily average transactions hit a new high, indicating UPI's strong adoption for low-value payments. The platform also demonstrated significant annual growth and expanding international presence.
It will enable real-time intel sharing among banks and other financial sector participants to strengthen customer protection against digital fraud.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is set to consider linking the ATM interchange fee to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), alongside a potential hike from the current 19 to 21-22, which could impact customer charges for transactions beyond the free limit.
Moving beyond digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of Unified Payments Interface, is planning to add more muscle to the country's digital infrastructure by setting up a fourth subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL).
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has reached a record Rs 314 lakh crore in transaction value in FY26, representing more than a 4,000-fold increase since inception.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction value and volume saw a slight month-on-month dip in April after record highs in March, but daily transaction volumes increased, indicating sustained growth in digital payments across India.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions reached a record high in March, driven by festivities and the financial year closure, according to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Rediff.com India Ltd, a subsidiary of AvenuesAI Ltd, has filed draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI through the confidential pre-filing route, marking an important step towards a potential public listing after its acquisition and strategic shift to an AI-led digital platform.
Users experienced difficulties with UPI payments due to technical issues in some banks' systems. NPCI stated that its systems are operational and it is working with banks to resolve the problems.
The Indian government has allocated an additional 2 million tonnes of surplus broken rice from FCI stocks for its ethanol blending programme, while simultaneously issuing a detailed rebuttal to widespread misinformation regarding the E20 fuel, addressing concerns from water consumption to engine damage and environmental impact.
As India's biggest Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app PhonePe prepares to list, the updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) shows the impact of regulations on the business, and concentration of payments-linked revenue even as UPI lacks MDR (merchant discount rate).
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has partnered with Airtel Payments Bank to launch co-branded RuPay National Common Mobility Cards (NCMC), enabling seamless payments across various transit networks nationwide.
From April 1, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India's new authentication directions modernise how every digital payment you make must be verified -- and place the burden of security squarely on your bank, not on you.
An analysis of the disparities in India's sporting culture, highlighting the challenges faced by non-cricket athletes and the systemic changes needed for India to become a true sporting superpower.
'Exploration should be made easier and companies should be given operational flexibility.'
'We are profoundly energy-dependent on the Gulf. That dependency must now be redirected towards the United States, because we require American permission to procure oil.' 'We additionally require Iranian permission to acquire oil from that source. So India now has to seek two separate permissions merely to secure its energy supply.' 'Should we be compelled to source from America, or from Venezuela -- which is, in effect, American-controlled supply -- that will inevitably carry a price premium, an elevated shipping cost, and a considerably extended delivery timeline, given the distances involved.'
India bought 1.87 million barrels of Russian oil per day in May so far, meeting approximately 40 per cent of its oil imports.
Cyber intelligence firm CloudSEK reports that online fraudsters are using a new toolkit called 'Digital Lutera' to bypass security features of UPI apps and carry out fraudulent financial transactions.
Gujarat police have uncovered cyber frauds worth Rs 2,289 crore and arrested 638 individuals as part of 'Operation Mule Account 1.0', a state-wide crackdown on online criminals launched in 2025.
Historically, India was a major buyer of Iranian crude, importing significant volumes of Iranian light and heavy grades due to strong refinery compatibility and favourable commercial terms.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
'This will bring in a lot of net new users to UPI.'
Starting February 1, NPCI has enforced a new rule disallowing special characters in UPI transaction IDs. To ensure uninterrupted transactions, follow these steps.
'At the first sign of real trouble, that money will move. There will be a run.'
A software engineer earning a high salary allegedly abandoned his career to run a fake online trading racket, duping investors of nearly Rs 100 crore.
While UIDAI has given a nod for face authentication, banks need to join the process.
A BJP government in Bengal inherits more problems than it might care to admit at its moment of triumph, points out Ramesh Menon
By enabling real-time data sharing, the platform will help prevent scams and ensure secure transactions.
Under the defence partnership, India and the UAE are eyeing defence industrial collaboration and cooperation in advanced technologies, cyberspace training, special operations, interoperability of their militaries and counter terrorism.
'Workers are being pushed into 12- to 14-hour shifts under poor conditions. These largely leaderless protests are likely to continue.'
'When you think of cross-border payments, the first things that come to mind are risk, compliance, taxation, speed, and cost.'
Nearly 7 out of every 10 P2M UPI transactions take place in high frequency categories like groceries, restaurants, pharmacies, fuel service stations, bakeries and utility services such as electricity, gas, water and sanitation.
'There is a debit execution failure which is because there is not enough money in the user's bank account.'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday released draft guidelines for streamlining the onboarding and monitoring of Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) operators to counter frauds perpetuated through the ecosystem. Banks and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) are required to comply with these directions within three months from the date of issue of the guidelines.
UPI has catapulted India into the forefront on the global digital payments landscape. Working hand in hand, the AePS payments system is making life easy for rural folks, notes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The average value of retail digital payments dropped 48 per cent from Rs 8,769 in March 2021 to Rs 4,560 in March 2024 due to a growing preference to use digital modes of transactions for small value payments, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) report on the trend and progress of banking in India.
