UPI transactions rise, ticket size declines, shows report; list of top remitter and beneficiary banks

Unified payment interface (UPI) transactions, in terms of value and volume, climbed during the second half of calendar year 2023, even as the average ticket size of the transactions declined during the same period, as per a report released by payment service provider Worldline.

Between June and December last year, the volume of UPI transactions came in at 6,577 crore, up 56% as compared to 4,209 crore transactions in the year-ago period.

The value of transactions during the same time frame grew by 44% to ₹99.68 lakh crore from ₹69.36 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

Notably, the average ticket size declined by 8% to ₹1,648 in the second half of 2023, as compared to ₹1,515 in the June-December period of 2022.

According to Worldline, the average ticket size persistently follows a downward trend, indicating a more profound integration of UPI, particularly in smaller or micro-transactions. This decline is predominantly propelled by the surge in person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions, it said.

Top UPI apps

In terms of volume and value, PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm were the dominant UPI app players. In December 2023, the three apps accounted for 95.4% of all the transactions in terms of volume which was 94.8% in December 2022, the report said.

In terms of value, they together comprised 93% in December 2023, as against 92.2% in the same period last year. The dominance is likely a blend of early mover advantage and the convenience, features, discounts, and deals provided by the apps, the report said.

Here’s the list of top remitter banks in December 2023

• State Bank Of India (SBI) tops the list with a total volume of 307.3 crore, as per the report.
• HDFC Bank is second with a total volume of 104.1 crore
• Bank of Baroda stands third with a volume of 76.7 crore
• Union Bank of India is fourth with a volume of 74.6 crore
• Punjab National Bank is fifth, with its volume totalling up to 60.7 crore.

Here’s the list of top beneficiary banks

• Paytm Payments Bank is placed first, with a total volume of 283.5 crore transactions, the Worldline report said. The numbers pertain to the period of December 2023, two months before the RBI initiated action against the lender.
• Yes Bank stands second with a volume of 226.9 crore.
• SBI is third with a volume of 125.2 crore.
• Axis Bank is placed fourth with a volume of 96.7 crore.
• ICICI Bank is fifth with a volume of 64.7 crore.