The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) managing director and CEO, Dilip Asbe, has emphasized the need for incentives to encourage the adoption of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) among individuals who are not digitally savvy. Speaking at the Bharat Fintech Summit 2025 on February 5, Asbe highlighted the importance of expanding UPI’s reach to an additional 300-400 million users who have yet to embrace digital payments fully.
“If you want to bring in the 300-400 million people who are not digital savvy onto the digital platform, there has to be some incentivisation,” Asbe stated.
The NPCI, which owns and operates India’s real-time payments system, has played a pivotal role in the growth of UPI. The payment system has witnessed exponential growth over the years. In December 2024, UPI transactions reached a value of Rs 23.24 lakh crore, a remarkable increase from Rs 707.93 crore in December 2016 and Rs 4.16 lakh crore in December 2020.
Asbe also reiterated his support for the zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), emphasizing the need for an economic incentive to drive ecosystem investment and long-term growth. “There has to be an economic incentive for the ecosystem to invest and grow,” he noted.
With UPI continuing to be a driving force in India’s digital payments landscape, policymakers and industry stakeholders may consider structured incentives to bridge the digital divide and encourage widespread adoption.
