Glossary · Banking & Finance
UPI
Unified Payments Interface — a real-time payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India that enables instant inter-bank transfers through mobile phones.
UPI was launched in 2016 by NPCI and uses virtual payment addresses (VPAs) such as name@bank to allow instant peer-to-peer and peer-to-merchant payments. UPI supports QR code-based payments, mandates, collect requests, and credit lines. There is a per-transaction cap of ₹1 lakh (₹2 lakh for select merchants like hospitals and educational institutions). UPI 2.0 added features like one-time mandate, invoice in the inbox, and UPI for NRIs. In 2024-25, UPI processes 12+ billion transactions per month.
Examples
A street vendor displays a UPI QR code; a customer scans and pays ₹100, which is credited to the vendor's account within seconds with no charge.