UPI in India: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The study explores the landscape of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) usage in India, focusing on awareness levels, user concerns, and its practical applications. Findings indicate a high awareness of UPI in urban areas compared to rural regions, where adoption is steadily increasing due to supportive government initiatives. Users reported concerns related to fraud, data privacy, technical issues, and limited customer support, particularly among older individuals. Despite these challenges, UPI demonstrates strong potential in daily transactions such as bill payments, peer-to-peer transfers, and online shopping, while also emerging as a valuable tool for microfinance and small business operations. UPI continues to play a vital role in promoting digital financial inclusion across diverse user groups.