UPI Payment Ecosystem Highlights – December 2024
The UPI payment landscape maintained a competitive edge in December 2024, with PhonePe and Google Pay emerging as the frontrunners. Both platforms showcased impressive transaction volumes and values during this period.
Transaction Volumes and Values
- PhonePe: Achieved an astounding 7.98 billion transactions, translating to a total transaction value of Rs 11.76 lakh crore.
- Google Pay: Managed 6.1 billion transactions, with a transaction value of Rs 8.22 lakh crore.
- Paytm: Experienced a significant lag behind competitors, recording 1.15 billion transactions and a total value of Rs 1.25 lakh crore.
In December, the market share of the leading three UPI applications, based on transaction volume, was as follows:
- PhonePe: 47.7%
- Google Pay: 36.7%
- Paytm: 6.87%
In terms of transaction value:
- PhonePe: 50.6%
- Google Pay: 35.38%
- Paytm: 5.4%
Compared to November, both PhonePe and Google Pay experienced slight growth in their market shares, whereas Paytm’s market share fell from 6.95% in transaction volume and 5.48% in transaction value.
According to NPCI data cited by brokerage firm UBS, Paytm did not capture any additional UPI market share in December, despite receiving the green light to onboard new customers in October. Consequently, Paytm’s shares decreased by 7.5% on Wednesday.
Emerging Competitors
Navi recently secured its position as the fourth-largest player in UPI transaction volume, processing 202.53 million transactions valued at Rs 11,317.09 crore. Meanwhile, Cred recorded 143.07 million transactions with a combined value of Rs 50,979.94 crore.
Regulatory Developments
In response to the escalating competition, NPCI has extended the compliance timeline for Third Party Application Providers (TPAPs) exceeding the volume cap in UPI by an additional two years. Furthermore, the organisation has permitted Meta-owned WhatsApp to expand its UPI services to its full user base nationwide.
WhatsApp’s Performance
In December, WhatsApp recorded 57.7 million transactions, amounting to Rs 4,348.19 crore. It secured the 11th position among UPI-based applications.