UPI + Credit Card = RuPay’s winning formula? Here’s what the data shows

India’s homegrown card network RuPay has emerged as the biggest winner from the surge in credit card transactions routed through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to The Economic Times report.

UPI-linked credit card transactions now account for nearly 40% of all credit card payments by volume, up sharply from about 10% at the end of fiscal year 2024, the report said, citing Bernstein data.

By value, the share has also risen to 8% from 2% a year earlier.

RuPay’s credit card market share has climbed to nearly 16% from 3% two years ago, helped by the Reserve Bank of India’s 2022 decision to allow RuPay credit cards to be linked exclusively to UPI. India had 11.33 crore active credit cards at the end of September 2025.

“A combination of wider merchant acceptance and a lower MDR structure for smaller merchants has accelerated adoption,” ET quoted Pranav Gundlapalle, head of India financials at Bernstein, as saying. “If UPI linkage remains exclusive to RuPay, it is poised to emerge as the dominant network in credit cards.”

Over 50 million merchants now accept UPI payments, compared with fewer than 10 million that accept cards via point-of-sale terminals. UPI-based RuPay credit card transactions attract merchant discount rates (MDR) only for large merchants and for payments above ₹2,000 at smaller merchants, aiding wider adoption among small retailers.

Consultancy PwC India said in a recent report that linking RuPay credit cards to UPI has “revolutionised digital payments” by merging UPI’s convenience with credit flexibility.

Gundlapalle added that while transaction volumes are likely to rise as UPI expands credit acceptance, revenue growth could trail since most small-ticket transactions below ₹2,000 currently attract no MDR. The average transaction size for UPI-linked credit card spends is below ₹1,000.