New Delhi: The National Payments Corp of India (NPCI), the custodian of the Unified Payments Interface, which allows bank-to-bank and wallet-to-bank payments in real time, has extended the deadline for the enforcement of a market share rule on companies operating in the UPI space. The move is expected to provide relief to key players such as Walmart-backed PhoenPe and Alphabet-owned Google Pay.
In 2020, the NPCI had proposed the imposition of a market share cap in the UPI space to prevent the payments market from turning into a duopoly. PhonePe and Google Pay were market leaders in this space with over 30 per cent market share each. The deadline was set on December 31, 2024. This has now been extended by 2 years to December 31, 2026.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has undertaken multiple initiatives to make UPI more accessible and data agnostic. The central bank’s most recent rollout was to an enhancement in the transaction cap for UPI123 payments to Rs 10,000 from Rs 5,000. The central bank has also ensured that wallet-based payments can be made via UPI from third-party apps.
In the same spirit, the NPCI on Tuesday announced the expansion of UPI’s user base by allowing WhatsApp to onboard more users for UPI. Earlier, WhatsApp’s UPI user base was capped at 100 million in the interest of competition. To be sure, the instant messaging app can expand its UPI user base in a phased manner, the NPCi said in its statement. NPCI is a joint initiative of the RBI and the Indian Banks’ Association. The umbrella body governs retail payments and settlement systems in India.
