By 2030, UPI could record 23,000+ transactions a second

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Two billion transactions a day, or 23,148 transactions a second. That’s the jaw-dropping number of transactions that Indians might conduct using United Payments Interface (UPI) by 2030. In comparison, UPI recorded its highest monthly transactions crossing 10 billion in August, which puts it at 3,733 transactions a second. Projecting the level of adoption that UPI might record in just about seven years, Dilip Asbe, the CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said on September 5 that it could reach 2 billion transactions a day. Asbe forecast that the number of customers could rise ten-fold with the RBI allowing linking of credit lines with UPI and about 15 of the world’s top 30 economies adopting the payment system that scores on convenience, speed, security and cleanliness of transactions apart from obviating the need for its user to carry minimal cash. Asbe also said that asset tokenisation can also take place in this route. “I think 10x growth on the users on the credit side, and it is not very ambitious,” Asbe said in conversation with Rajan Anandan, Partner, Peak XV at the Global Fintech Festival. Asbe also mentioned that a couple of big lenders such as HDFC bank and ICICI Bank have already initiated a completely digital journey for the customer. Others could follow quickly. “With the sachetisation of credit and a fully digital journey, the volumes could be significantly bigger. The costs would come down sharply, both in terms of acquiring the customer and the transaction costs. Currently, the underwriting costs, especially when credit cards are used, are high, making it difficult to scale up volumes. Underwriting costs will be minimal,” he said. The NPCI CEO also said after Singapore, UAE, Bhutan and Nepal, they were about to initiate transactions with other countries. It is also going live in France. Only last week, a German federal minister purchased vegetable from a roadside vendor in Bengaluru following which the Germany embassy praised his experience with UPI in glowing terms on social media. He pointed out that talks were going on to raise the limit of payment from $1,000 to 10 times the amount in the case of Singapore. Asbe mentioned that NPCI expects customers to be able to access real-time credit from a showroom for a specific purchase and they would not need a sanction in advance. The RBI is constantly helping the adoption of UPI. It recently raised the limit of UPI lite from Rs 200 to Rs 500 with effect from August 10 this year. With wider push and adoption, the target of 100 billion transactions a month, from the current record of 10 billion a month, could soon become a reality, the NPCI CEO mentioned.