PhonePe, backed by Walmart, solidified its position as the dominant player in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem in May, processing 10.73 billion transactions, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Overall, UPI recorded 23.2 billion transactions in May, an increase from 22.35 billion in April, with the total transaction value rising to Rs 29.90 lakh crore. PhonePe accounted for 46.3% of the total UPI transaction volume and 49.1% of the transaction value, amounting to Rs 14.67 lakh crore.Google Pay followed as the second-largest player, processing 7.60 billion transactions, which represented a 32.8% market share by volume and a 33.5% share by value, translating to Rs 10.03 lakh crore. Paytm secured the third position with 1.84 billion transactions, capturing 7.9% of the volume and 6.7% of the value share. Notably, all three platforms achieved their highest monthly transaction volumes in May, indicating a robust growth trend in UPI activity.Emerging players also made strides, with Navi processing over 824 million transactions, while Flipkart-backed super.money handled 419 million transactions. The BHIM app recorded 227 million transactions, and smaller platforms like FamApp by Trio and CRED processed around 197 million and 157 million transactions, respectively. CRED, despite lower transaction volume, maintained a 2% value share, suggesting higher average ticket sizes among its users.WhatsApp crossed 150 million transactions, and Axis Bank’s apps contributed 134 million transactions across various payment types. PhonePe and Google Pay together accounted for nearly 79% of UPI transaction volume and 82.6% of transaction value, reinforcing their dominance in India’s digital payments landscape. UPI transactions in May were primarily driven by everyday consumption categories, with groceries and supermarkets leading at 3.87 billion transactions, followed by fast food restaurants and telecom services. Meanwhile, digital gold purchases remained stable, with transaction volume slightly increasing to 249 million but value decreasing to Rs 2,451 crore from Rs 2,499 crore in April.
