UPI to Grow 10x, Onboard 300 Million Users: NPCI CEO
According to Dilip Asbe, Managing Director and CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI has the potential to expand tenfold and onboard an additional 200-300 million people into the digital payments ecosystem in the near future. Speaking at the 19th India Digital Summit (IDS), Asbe said India is at the cusp of a digital payments revolution and the network effects will continue to improve the system as it scales.
"Digital payments are now an integral part of life, and I don't think we are going to return to cash", Asbe observed at a session organized by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in association with the Ministry of Information Technology and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He also added that, though UPI has become the foundational infrastructure layer for players across sectors, enormous support from RBI, the government, and the broader ecosystem would be required to include another 200-300 million people into the digital payments fold.
Reflecting on the journey of UPI, Asbe said that the last 8-10 years have been crucial in transforming it into a robust infrastructure for fintech startups and financial services players alike. He credited the unwavering support from the RBI and government for continuous innovation, which has helped scale UPI significantly.
RuPay, India's domestic payment card network, Speaking on the growth of it holds 16-17% share of the market that is credit and aims to level up in comparison in the upcoming years.
On the issue of security, Asbe acknowledged the challenges posed by fraud and hacking but highlighted the progress made in strengthening cybersecurity. He noted that the RBI’s dedicated cybersecurity division and the efforts of institutions like NCIIPC and CERT-IN under MeitY are key to securing critical infrastructure. Asbe stressed that continued investments in skills, tools, and processes are crucial to addressing the growing security challenges.
