New Delhi, Aug. 29 -- A decade ago, UPI was a new way to move money between bank accounts. Today, the scale is difficult to ignore: annual UPI transactions have risen from 1.78 crore in FY2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in FY2025-26, according to the Union Finance Ministry.

The bigger shift is not just the growth in transactions. UPI has expanded across banks, payment applications, merchant payments, and cross-border use, making interoperability a central part of how India's digital payment system operates.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked a milestone in India's digital payments journey, noting on X (formerly Twitter) that "a decade ago, UPI was rolled out, marking a major turning point in India's digital payments journey." He urge...