Layer: Tuesday

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | August 18, 2026 This week on the L2 Payments & Financial Rails layer, the single biggest story is the Parliament’s passage of the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 — which, for the first time since January 2020, cracks open the legal door to a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI and RuPay debit card transactions. That one legislative move has triggered a cascade of consequences: a framing debate about who bears the cost of free payments, early behavioural data suggesting consumers are drifting back to cash, NPCI’s record July transaction numbers that simultaneously prove UPI’s dominance and expose its growth deceleration, and an international expansion drive that is using UPI as a diplomatic instrument. Here are the five stories that defined this week. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | August 11, 2026 L2 — Payments & Financial Rails (NPCI, UPI, RuPay) 1. The Great UPI MDR Debate: Parliament Opens the Door to Merchant Fees The single biggest story in India’s payments ecosystem this week is the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which the Lok Sabha passed on August 6. The bill amends Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 — removing the legal provision that prevented banks and payment service providers from charging a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | August 04, 2026 Layer: L2 — Payments & Financial Rails (NPCI, UPI, RuPay) 1. UPI Smashes All-Time Records: 23.66 Billion Transactions in July UPI delivered yet another record-breaking month in July 2026, processing 23.66 billion transactions worth ₹29.88 lakh crore — the highest monthly volume ever recorded on the platform. Volume grew 4.1% month-on-month from June’s 22.72 billion, while value rose 3.3% from ₹28.92 lakh crore. Year-on-year, volumes surged 22% and values climbed 19%. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | July 07, 2026 L2: Payments & Financial Rails — NPCI, UPI, RuPay This week, India’s payments layer witnessed a flurry of landmark developments: UPI went live in its 10th country, NPCI struck landmark partnerships with global banks for real-time FX settlement, its CEO was inducted into SWIFT’s supervisory board, and June transaction data confirmed UPI’s continued double-digit growth trajectory. Here are the five most significant developments from the past seven days. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | June 30, 2026 Layer L2: Payments & Financial Rails (NPCI, UPI, RuPay) This week in India’s digital payments infrastructure was dominated by a singular strategic pivot: the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) went on record declaring that artificial intelligence will be the primary engine driving UPI from its current 750 million daily transactions to the ambitious target of one billion. Alongside this AI roadmap, the week saw major cross-border expansion milestones — UPI went live with Nepal’s NPI, and a fresh MoU brings it to Seychelles — and a blockbuster deal that could reshape the WhatsApp payments landscape. Here is a deep dive into the five most significant developments. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | June 23, 2026 Layer 2: Payments & Financial Rails Sector coverage: NPCI, UPI, RuPay, cross-border payments, payment infrastructure Analysis window: June 16–23, 2026 Story 1 — NPCI Launches Drunix: An Open-Source Blockchain Platform for Tokenisation Date: June 17, 2026 | Source: Business Standard, NPCI The National Payments Corporation of India unveiled Drunix, an open-source blockchain platform built as an enhanced fork of Hyperledger Fabric, marking a significant expansion beyond its core payments mandate. Drunix is designed to help enterprises build and scale tokenisation platforms, digital asset ecosystems, and multi-organisation blockchain networks. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | June 16, 2026 L2: Payments & Financial Rails — UPI’s Week of Global Expansion This week has been a watershed for India’s payments layer. UPI not only crossed 23.2 billion monthly transactions — a new all-time high — but also went live in three new countries simultaneously, while the RBI quietly rewrote the rulebook for how payment systems are licensed in India. Let’s unpack the five major developments. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | June 09, 2026 This week’s Tuesday deep dive focuses on Layer 2 — Payments & Financial Rails, covering NPCI, UPI, RuPay, the Digital Rupee (CBDC), and the evolving regulatory landscape. The past seven days (June 2–9, 2026) have been packed with milestones that signal India’s payments infrastructure is maturing rapidly — not just in scale, but in security, cross-border reach, and regulatory sophistication. 1. UPI Crosses 23.2 Billion Monthly Transactions, Touches ₹29.9 Trillion in May NPCI released the May 2026 data on June 2, and the numbers are staggering. UPI processed 23.2 billion transactions worth ₹29.9 trillion during the month — averaging 737.8 million transactions per day at a daily value of approximately ₹84,423 crore. This is a fresh all-time high, continuing the relentless month-on-month growth trajectory. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | June 02, 2026 Layer Focus: L2 — Payments & Financial Rails (NPCI, UPI, RuPay) A weekly deep dive into developments across India’s payments and financial infrastructure layer, tracking UPI, NPCI policy, RuPay, and the evolving digital payments ecosystem. 1. UPI Smashes All-Time Record: 23.20 Billion Transactions in May 2026 India’s Unified Payments Interface has shattered its own record yet again. NPCI data released on June 1 shows UPI processed 23.20 billion transactions worth ₹29.90 lakh crore in May 2026 — a 24% year-on-year jump in volume and 19% in value compared to May 2025. ...

DPI Deep Dive — Tuesday | April 28, 2026 Focus Layer: L2 Payments & Financial Rails (NPCI, UPI, RuPay) Coverage Period: April 21-28, 2026 Executive Summary This week’s L2 Payments layer sees continued growth in UPI transaction volumes while WhatsApp attempts to carve out a niche with prepaid mobile recharges. International expansion via UPI One World gains traction, and AI-powered fraud emerges as a critical challenge for India’s digital payments ecosystem. The core dynamic remains unchanged: PhonePe and Google Pay dominate, while smaller players struggle to gain meaningful share despite the Indian market’s massive scale. ...