Banks must use UPI to create more digital opportunities to empower millions: FM Sitharaman

Mumbai, Sep 20 (IANS) As the unified payments interface (UPI) goes global, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the banks to explore creating deeper digital opportunities and utilise UPI as a transformative innovation to empower millions.

According to FM Sitharaman, India’s UPI currently drives 45 per cent of global digital payments.

Speaking at an event in Pune, the Finance Minister said a robust banking system can help achieve economic growth, social progress and environmental sustainability, and as UPI spreads its wings, the banks can thrive along with it too.

Based on the encouraging response received from several countries, the RBI is now focusing on making "UPI and RuPay truly global".

As per the latest National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data, UPI saw 41 per cent growth (year-on-year) at record 14.96 billion transactions in the month of August, as total transaction amount touched Rs 20.61 lakh crore -- a 31 per cent YoY growth. The average daily transaction amount stood at 483 million last month, as the average daily transaction amount reached Rs 66,475 crore.

The value of UPI transactions processed has remained above Rs 20 lakh crore for four consecutive months. UPI is now adding up to 60 lakh new users every month, fuelled by the RuPay credit card on UPI and its launch in foreign countries. The NPCI has also set an ambitious target of achieving 1 billion UPI transactions per day in the coming years. The digital payments technology has the potential to touch 100 billion transactions in the next 10-15 years backed by credit growth. Credit has already been launched on the UPI system.

Emphasising that technology was transforming the digital payments landscape, FM Sitharaman said that banks need to focus on robust digital systems and strong firewalls to protect customers’ trust. As banks benefit from technology, they need to periodically learn to mitigate risks and improve customer service, credit assessments and fraud detection using technology, the Finance Minister noted.

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