UPI in March: Marketplaces, family clothing shops post over 20% growth
21 Apr 2026, 04:10 PMThe overall value of the merchant category-wise purchases via UPI increased to Rs 8.61 lakh crore in March across 14,180.46 million transactions.
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UPI merchant payments staged a broad recovery in March 2026, with transaction volumes and values climbing across nearly all categories compared to February.
The overall value of the merchant category-wise purchases via UPI increased to Rs 8.61 lakh crore in March across 14,180.46 million transactions as compared to Rs 7.72 lakh crore in February across 12,795.78 million transactions, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Groceries and supermarkets, which account for the largest share, recorded 3,751.09 million transactions worth Rs 81,879.85 crore in March as compared to 3,283.85 million transactions worth Rs 74,127.95 crore in February.
Securities brokers and dealers saw a sharp recovery in value, rising to Rs 71,503.33 crore in March from Rs 58,625.78 crore in February. Transaction volume in the category also inched up to 77.19 million from 70.97 million.
Debt collection agencies saw its transaction value rise to Rs 63,138.32 crore in March from Rs 58,678.29 crore in February, on 181.74 million transactions compared to 168.58 million.
Service stations witnessed transactional value jumping to Rs 44,180.28 crore on 674.46 million transactions in March, up from Rs 38,811.08 crore on 633.99 million transactions in February.
Telecommunication services posted a notable jump, with transaction value rising to Rs 23,723.04 crore in March from Rs 20,715.85 crore in February, on 914.48 million transactions versus 794.75 million.
Fast food restaurants recorded 1,474.74 million transactions worth Rs 17,237.27 crore in March compared to 1,382.81 million worth Rs 15,639.68 crore in February; eating places and restaurants saw 1,250.99 million transactions worth Rs 20,784.67 crore versus 1,165.56 million worth Rs 19,070.54 crore.
Electronics shops saw 87.65 million transactions worth Rs 12,194.61 crore in March compared to 81.95 million worth Rs 10,322.74 crore in February. Men's and women's clothing shops recorded 105.38 million transactions worth Rs 12,956.31 crore versus 100.20 million worth Rs 11,804.33 crore.
Drug stores and pharmacies recorded 302.50 million transactions worth Rs 12,315.90 crore in March compared to 294.66 million worth Rs 11,921.67 crore in February. Government services recorded 135.16 million transactions worth Rs 11,098.65 crore versus 119 million worth Rs 9,573.58 crore.
Digital gold purchases rose to Rs 3,171.96 crore in March from Rs 3,032.41 crore in February, on 254.44 million transactions compared to 222.83 million.
Utilities (electric, gas, water) saw a volume dip, with transactions falling to 153.78 million in March from 155.91 million in February, though value held up at Rs 19,933.04 crore versus Rs 19,139.07 crore. Beauty and barber shops category saw value decline, slipping to Rs 2,435.67 crore in March from Rs 2,540.71 crore in February despite a marginal volume uptick.
Overall UPI volumes for March 2026 stood at 22.64 billion transactions worth Rs 29.53 lakh crore, up from 20.39 billion transactions worth Rs 26.84 lakh crore in February, marking 11% month-on-month growth in volume and 10% growth in value.
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