UPI, which has become the face of digital payments in India, is continuously creating new records. Every month, more than 20 billion transactions and about 85% of digital payments are happening through UPI. However, when these figures are seen in terms of population, a different picture emerges. According to the report of Times of India (TOI), the use of UPI is not uniform in all the states in the country.
In the data till November 2025, UPI transactions of the states and their value were seen by linking them to the population. It was revealed that in a large and economically strong state like Maharashtra, per capita UPI usage is about seven times more than Bihar. At the same time, in Telangana, which is second at the national level, per capita transactions were recorded more than six times that of Tripura.
The states of South and West India seem to be at the forefront in this matter. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are well above the national average. On the contrary, states like Jharkhand, Assam and West Bengal remain in the bottom list, which clearly shows the gap in digital payments.
When the effect of population is removed, smaller and more urban areas come out ahead. A person in Delhi makes an average of 23.9 UPI transactions in a month. After this comes Goa (23.3), Telangana (22.6) and Chandigarh (22.5). Among large states, Maharashtra is in the strongest position with about 17.4 transactions per capita, where there is a wide network of QR codes and digital infrastructure.
The same trend is visible not only in the number of transactions but also in terms of the amount. Telangana tops with UPI payments of around Rs 34,800 per person per month. After this is Goa and Delhi. It is clear from this that people in these states are relying on UPI even for big daily payments.
On the other hand, states like Tripura and Bihar have less than four UPI transactions per capita per month. Jharkhand, Assam and West Bengal also fall in this category. The picture is mixed in the North-East, usage is better in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, while Tripura and Assam are still lagging behind.
Experts believe that India's digital economy is progressing at different speeds. Going forward, to reduce this gap, it will be necessary to increase smartphone penetration, improve network connectivity and rapidly connect small shopkeepers to UPI. The technology is present across the country, now the challenge is for its deep and uniform use.
