2025-2030年印度支付手册

October 2025 Preface Dear readers, We are pleased to present the sixth edition of The Indian Payments Handbook, for the period2025-2030. This edition builds upon the foundation laid by our previous reports and offers adetailed and comprehensive view of India’s rapidly evolving digital payments ecosystem. Over the past year, the payments industry in India has witnessed quite a few transformativedevelopments, ranging from regulatory reforms and infrastructure enhancements to theemergence of new players and adoption of next-gen technologies. This report captures theseshifts, providing deep insights into: •the growth trajectory of digital payments in both volume and value over the next fiveyears, along with key factors that will be responsible for this growth•the evolving role of different payment modes in shaping consumer behaviours and trends•the expanding use cases on payment products i.e. UPI, cards, Bharat Connect, FASTag andprepaid payment instruments (PPIs)•strategic innovations in agentic AI, biometric authentication and cross-border UPI. This year, our analysis is further supported by a market survey that was conducted with 175+industry leaders and veterans from the banking, payments and FinTech space in India. Thefindings from the survey have helped validate and solidify our point of view on the overallgrowth of the digital payments space in the country. We hope this handbook serves as a valuable resource for stakeholders across the ecosystem,helping them anticipate trends, adapt to change and seize emerging opportunities. India continues to lead the global digital payments revolution, and we are excited to be a partof this journey. Mihir Gandhi Partner and Leader - Payments Transformation and FinTechPwC India Executive summary India’s digital payments ecosystem is entering a pivotal phase of transformation – marked byexponential growth, strategic innovation and deepening financial inclusion. Digital paymentsare projected to grow from 206 billion transactions in FY25 to 617 billion in FY30, with valuerising from INR 299 trillion to INR 907 trillion – about 3x in five years.1 At the centre of this evolution is the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which continues tolead retail payments and accounts for ~90% of transaction volumes.2With innovations suchas biometric authentication, IoT-enabled payments and cross-border remittances, UPI is wellon track to clock 1 billion transactions per day by FY28.3However, signs of saturation are alsoemerging, prompting the need for newer use cases and infrastructure upgrades to sustainmomentum. Enabling credit lines through UPI and allowing customers to link RuPay creditcards on UPI shall further boost transaction volumes and help drive momentum. Credit cards are witnessing robust growth, with volumes and values projected to grow at 21.7%and 20.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), respectively.4The integration of RuPaycredit cards with UPI, potential expansion by non-banking financial companies, and the rise ofco-branded and virtual cards are reshaping consumer credit behaviour. Meanwhile, debit cardscontinue to decline, driven by UPI’s convenience and lack of incentives on usage of debit cards. The merchant acquiring landscape is also undergoing rapid digitisation, and low-costacceptance infrastructure – such as QR codes and soundboxes – is driving adoption acrossTier 2 to Tier 4 cities. Real-time settlements, instant onboarding and cross-sell strategies areenhancing merchant engagement, while online acquiring is expanding on the back of buy nowpay later (BNPL), dynamic currency conversion and AI-driven fraud detection. Platforms like Bharat Connect (erstwhile Bharat Bill Payment System) and FASTag (NETC)are expanding their use cases. Bharat Connect has expanded into new categories such ashealthcare, education and society maintenance, with transaction value expected to grow at30%+ CAGR.5FASTag is evolving beyond tolls into parking, fuel and smart city applications,with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based tolling and multi-lane free flow (MLFF)systems on the distant horizon. PPIs are rebounding through UPI integration and new use cases, including forex cards,corporate gifting and National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) adoption, and regulatoryclarity and innovation are expected to drive renewed growth in this segment. India’s position as the top global recipient of remittances is being reinforced by UPI-linkedcorridors, FinTech-led innovations and Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s cross-border initiatives.The introduction of Payment Aggregator – Cross Border (PA-CB) licences, Central Bank DigitalCurrency (CBDC) pilots and stablecoin interoperability are laying the foundation for a globallyconnected payments ecosystem. Emerging trends such as agentic AI, distributed ledger technology (DLT), biometricauthentication and inclusive design are redefining the future of payments while regulatoryinitiatives like the PRAVAAH portal, self-regulatory org