India Goes Scan-First: UPI & QR Payments Surge in Q3 2025

India Goes Scan-First: UPI and QRs Power Payments Growth in Q3 2025: Worldline India

• India’s digital economy accelerates with 709 million active QRs and record UPI volumes

Mumbai, 18 December 2025 – Worldline India today released a concise, data-rich snapshot capturing the rapid evolution of India’s digital payments landscape in Q3 2025. The snapshot is an extension of Worldline’s flagship India Digital Payments Report, offering timely insights into the payment trends shaping the quarter.

The analysis highlights the continued dominance of UPI, the sharp acceleration of QR-led merchant acceptance, sustained growth in card issuance, and deepening digital adoption across both metropolitan India and emerging Bharat. Q3 2025 further reinforced India’s position as the world’s most dynamic real-time payments economy—where every scan, tap, and click is reshaping consumer and merchant behaviour.

Key Highlights – Q3 2025

UPI Continues Its Record-Breaking Momentum

• UPI transaction volumes rose 33.5% YoY to 59.33 billion transactions.
• Transaction value grew 21% YoY to ₹74.84 trillion.
• Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions continued to outpace Person-to-Person (P2P), reflecting UPI’s dominance in everyday retail payments:
  • P2M: Up 35% to 37.46 billion transactions
  • P2P: Up 29% to 21.65 billion transactions
• The average ticket size declined to ₹1,262 (from ₹1,363), highlighting increased usage for micro-transactions such as mobility, food, healthcare essentials, and hyperlocal commerce.

QR Network Powers India’s ‘Scan-First’ Economy

• India reached 709 million active UPI QRs, marking a 21% increase since July 2024.
• Dense QR acceptance across kiranas, pharmacies, transport hubs, and rural markets has made scan-and-pay the default payment mode nationwide.
• PoS terminals grew 35% to 12.12 million (July 2024–July 2025).
• Bharat QR stood at 6.10 million, witnessing marginal decline amid the shift toward UPI QR dominance.
• Private banks led acceptance deployment, accounting for 84% market share.

Cards Retain Their High-Value Role

• Credit card issuance surged 35% YoY to 113.39 million cards.
• Debit cards reached 1.02 billion, while prepaid cards stood at 470.1 million.
• Credit card transactions grew 26% to 1.45 billion, with transaction value at ₹4.08 trillion.
• Debit card transactions declined 25%, reflecting migration of low-ticket spends to UPI.
• Prepaid card transaction volumes grew 23%.

PoS trends

• Total PoS card transactions reached 1.18 billion, with value rising to ₹2.90 trillion.
• Credit card PoS spending increased 16%, led by fashion, travel, and wellness.

Online trends

• Online card transactions surged 29% to 1.13 billion.
• Credit cards dominated online spending with ₹3.86 trillion in transaction value.

Mobile-First India Advances

Mobile and tap-based payments continued to accelerate, with contactless adoption gaining momentum across metros, mobility services, and quick-service retail.

What’s Next: Payments Outlook for Q4 2025 and Early 2026

The outlook for Q4 2025 and early 2026 points to accelerated innovation and deeper ecosystem integration. Interoperable QR is expected to move from pilot phases to everyday usage across mobility, healthcare, fuel stations, and public utilities—delivering a unified scan-and-pay experience.

Credit-on-UPI is likely to witness mass adoption, enabling small-ticket credit, EMIs, and pre-approved credit lines through familiar UPI journeys. Semi-urban centres and smaller towns are set to lead the next phase of digital expansion, driven by rapid QR adoption among kiranas, pharmacies, and local service providers.

Meanwhile, tap-and-pay usage is expected to grow across malls, metros, and transit systems, improving checkout speed and customer experience. Cross-border QR payments are also poised for steady growth across Asian travel corridors, enabling Indian travellers and students to use domestic QR-based payment experiences seamlessly overseas.

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