Payment platforms vie for merchant UPI transfers

Paytm has processed 1.2 billion merchant transactions in the first three months of the current financial year, the digital payments provider claimed, even as the battle for a larger share of the overall retail digital payments pie intensifies.

Paytm’s rival, PhonePe, claimed it had recorded 90 million merchant transactions through the app in August alone. Paytm, as a payments bank processes transactions across multiple modes like wallet, UPI and others. PhonePe primarily offers UPI payments.

According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the total UPI transactions recorded for August stood at 918 million. Paytm said these transactions have been processed at more than 14 million retail stores. The company said this did not include any person-to-person payments or money transfer transactions.

PhonePe said it processed 90 million transactions at its 6.5 million merchant base in August alone, across 210 locations in the country.