UPI Service: Giving relief to big companies like PhonePe and Google Pay, NPCI has extended the deadline for implementing 30 percent volume cap on third party Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps by two years to December 31, 2026. This is the third time NPCI has extended the deadline.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has extended the deadline for third party apps PhonePe and Google Pay to reduce their market share in UPI by two years. This is the second time NPCI has extended the deadline. These two apps have increased their market share to 48 percent and 37 percent respectively even after the entry of new companies.
PhonePe and Google Pay’s market share continues to grow
In November 2020, NPCI had said that no third-party app provider should have more than 30 percent market share of total UPI transaction volume by December 31, 2024. However, PhonePe and Google Pay’s market share continues to grow as Paytm faced challenges due to RBI’s action on Paytm Payments Bank.
Banks are also making their UPI app strategy
Last month, 1,613 crore UPI transactions worth Rs 22.3 lakh crore took place. Paytm is again gaining market share. Along with this, Navi, Cred, Bhim, WhatsApp Pay and other new apps are growing strongly. Banks are also making their UPI app strategy. In such a situation, the market share of Google and Phone Pay may automatically decrease in the coming time.
There was a limit on users on WhatsApp Pay
At the same time, giving a big relief to WhatsApp a day ago, NPCI has removed the limit on the inclusion of UPI users for third-party app provider WhatsApp Pay with immediate effect. With this, WhatsApp Pay can now provide UPI services to its entire user base in India. Earlier, NPCI had allowed WhatsApp Pay to expand its UPI user base in a phased manner. Let us tell you that WhatsApp Pay had a limit of 100 million users which has been removed by NPCI. NPCI, an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
