UPI Transactions crosses 2 billion mark 

UPI Transactions crosses 2 billion mark 

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Economy

In news

• Recently UPI transactions were in the news.
• According to the data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the total number of transactions conducted on BHIM-UPI crossed the 2 billion mark in a month in October 2020.

Key takeaways 

• UPI is currently the biggest among the NPCI operated systems. 
• Other systems include National Automated Clearing House (NACH), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay etc.
• Digital transactions were already increasing but the lockdown imposed due to Covid-19 provided a thrust
• Also, India’s digital payments industry is likely to grow from Rs. 2,153 trillion to Rs. 7,092 trillion by 2025.

Important value additions 

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) 

• NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. 
• It is an initiative of RBI and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• It is a “Not for Profit” Company under the provisions of Section 25 of Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013). 
• Objective: To provide infrastructure to the entire Banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.

Do you know? 

Challenges of the digital transactions

• Cybercrime. E.g. Malicious Software Cerberus
• Fraudulent claims, chargebacks, fake buyer accounts, promotion/coupon abuse, account takeover, identity theft, etc.