UPI leaders PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm see record transactions in October

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In what was a record-breaking month for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, market leaders PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm Payments Bank, all clocked in all-time-high transactions and transaction values.

Overall October saw the total value of transactions at Rs 7.71 lakh crore and 421 crore transactions executed in the month, both at all-time highs.

Of that, PhonePe reported 193 crore transactions, up 19 percent from 165 crore in September. The value of transactions on PhonePe grew to Rs 3.65 lakh crore from Rs 3.06 lakh crore in September.

The digital payments company maintained its 47 percent market share in monthly UPI transactions and 45 percent share in the overall value of transactions.

Google Pay saw 145 crore transactions in October valued at Rs 2.87 lakh crore, a month-on-month (MoM) rise of 12 percent in transactions and 15 percent in transacted values. Google Pay’s volume market share too remained stable for the month at 34 percent and value market share at 37 percent.

Paytm Payments Bank, the third-largest UPI player saw a 34 percent MoM rise in transaction values at Rs 80,508 crore with a 10 percent market share. The company also saw a rise in the number of transactions to 63 crore for the month, commanding a 15 percent share.

WhatsApp’s transactions more than doubled for the second consecutive month amid increased efforts by the instant messaging giant to ramp up its UPI operations in India. Transactions grew from 10 lakh in September to 26 lakh in October.

The value of transactions on WhatsApp jumped 67 percent MoM to Rs 104 crore from Rs 62.31 crore in September. WhatsApp’s UPI feature is restricted to only 20 million users as per NPCI’s directions.

In dollar terms, UPI transactions in October crossed a record $100 billion fueled by the shopping spree marking the beginning of the festival season and e-commerce sales. With higher vaccination rates and further relaxation of norms, people also started stepping out for purchases more often in the month.

At this rate, UPI transaction values are on track to cross $1 trillion, a huge milestone for the home-grown payments system, for FY22.