Akash Sinha, CEO & Co-founder, Cashfree Payments

“The December UPI numbers are a powerful indication of what the Indian payments ecosystem has collectively built over the last decade. A 29% year on year growth in transaction volumes and a 20% rise in transaction value underline the resilience of infrastructure that was designed with intent, and built to scale from day one. What we are seeing today is not seasonal acceleration, but structural behavior change, with UPI becoming the default mode of payment across metros as well as tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This adoption is also deepening, with wider QR acceptance, rising consumer confidence, and higher average ticket sizes pushing UPI beyond everyday, low value purchases into more meaningful, higher value transactions. As the ecosystem matures, the next phase of growth will be driven by new payment behaviors such as conversational and agentic payments, biometric authentication, and intelligent cross border flows that are designed around user intent. Strengthening recurring payment rails is a critical part of this evolution, and as an ecosystem partner working closely with Indian businesses, we see NPCI’s push to enhance UPI Autopay through a dedicated mandate management portal as a timely step in improving transparency, control, and trust for users and merchants alike.” 

Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby

“UPI’s continued momentum reflects not just scale, but the deep trust it has earned across India’s digital economy. With 21.63 billion transactions amounting to ₹27.97 lakh crore in December 2025, UPI once again reaffirmed its role as the backbone of everyday commerce, enabling seamless payments from metro cities to the last mile in Bharat.

What also stands out is India’s growing prominence in real-time payments globally. In this context, NPCI’s recent initiative to strengthen UPI Autopay through a dedicated mandate-management portal is a timely step toward improving transparency, user control, and ease of recurring payments across subscriptions, utilities, and digital services.

As India moves forward on the path to Viksit Bharat, it becomes essential to equip retailers and micro-entrepreneurs with secure, intuitive, and hyperlocal digital payment infrastructure. This will help drive wider financial participation, strengthen economic resilience, and build confidence across Bharat’s digital economy”