Retail digital payments grew 34.9% in volume and 16.1% in value. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) led the growth, clocking a 41.7% rise in volume and 30.3% in value. It accounted for 84% of total retail digital payment volumes.
National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) transactions increased 32.4% by volume and 13.4% by value, while Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions rose 12% in volume and 17.8% in value.
The share of digital transactions in total non-cash retail payments stood at 99.9%, slightly up from 99.8% in FY24, the report said.
To improve access and convenience, the RBI launched several UPI enhancements.
These include Delegated Payments, use of UPI at Cash Deposit Machines, PPI access through third-party UPI apps, and auto-replenishment for UPI Lite, FASTag, and NCMC balances. Transaction limits were revised upwards across categories, including a ₹5 lakh cap for tax payments via UPI.
RBI also expanded UPI’s international footprint by enabling QR-based transactions in countries like France, Nepal, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka. It joined Project Nexus, a BIS-led initiative to link India’s UPI with fast payment systems in ASEAN nations.
The central bank tightened digital payment security by expanding the Central Payments Fraud Information Registry (CPFIR) to more entities and proposing dedicated domains like .bank.in and .fin.in to fight phishing.
Guidelines were also issued to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities.
In parallel, RBI pushed forward the adoption of the central bank digital currency (CBDC-R). The value of the digital rupee in circulation rose 334% year-on-year, from ₹234.04 crore in FY24 to ₹1,016.46 crore in FY25.
Currency in circulation
The total value of banknotes in circulation rose by 6%, while the volume increased by 5.6% year-on-year. ₹500 notes had the largest share—40.9% in volume and 86.0% in value. ₹10 notes were the second-largest by volume, accounting for 16.4%.
Together, lower denominations of ₹10, ₹20, and ₹50 made up 31.7% of total banknote volume.
The withdrawal of ₹2,000 notes neared completion. By March 31, 2025, 98.2% of the ₹3.56 lakh crore in circulation had returned to the banking system.
Coins in circulation increased 9.6% in value and 3.6% in volume. ₹1, ₹2, and ₹5 coins comprised 81.6% of total coin volume and 64.2% of value.
Counterfeit notes
RBI detected 2,17,396 counterfeit note pieces in FY25, down 2.4% from the previous year.
