The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) registered around 42% jump in net profit to Rs 1,552 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 as compared with Rs 1,095 crore in the previous financial year, according to data from rating agency ICRA.

NPCI, which operates instant real-time payments system Unified Payments Interface (UPI), refers to profits as revenue surplus, as a not-for-profit organization.

NPCI's standalone revenue grew 19% to Rs 3,270 crore in FY25 from Rs 2,749 crore in the previous financial year, the data showed.

The company's total volumes and revenue have been on a rising trend with a 33% year-on-year rise in transaction volumes in FY25, led by growth across products. The total number of transactions across all products increased to 21,360 crore in FY25 from 16,100 crore in FY24.

Its net worth stood at Rs 6,412 crore on account of strong internal accruals, and it had zero leverage as on March 31, 2025.

Incorporated in 2008, NPCI functions as an umbrella organization for operating retail payment and settlement systems in India. NPCI is promoted by 10 banks -- six public sector banks, and two private sector banks and foreign banks, each. UPI, its flagship product, was launched in 2016 and its usage widened on the back of the government's digital push as well as the pandemic. Apart from UPI, NPCI also generates income from digital payments infrastructures like IMPS (Immediate Payment Service), AePS (Aadhaar-enabled Payment System), BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System), and NCMC (National Common Mobility Card). It earns a percentage of the transaction value processed by partner banks.

Over the medium term, ICRA explained that Reserve Bank of India’s vision to provide every Indian with access to safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable e-payment options and enhance cross-border payments is likely to result in favourable growth prospects for NPCI.

The rating agency also said that NPCI has low business risk on account of dealing only with regulated entities and its own risk management systems and processes.

"The risk is also mitigated by the presence of a settlement guarantee mechanism (SGM) for the key products, wherein a part of the money is collected from the members in the form of a settlement guarantee fund

(SGF), and loss-sharing arrangements among banks in case of default by a member," the rating agency stated.

It also revealed that NPCI’s overall financial risk is limited to Rs 5 crore across each product. As on March 31, 2025, its total SGF was Rs 17,892 crore (including SGF of Rs 2,695 crore for Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

However, the rating agency noted that NPCI needs to continuously upgrade its risk management and IT systems.

It also said that the entry of new players in any of the segments where NPCI is currently operating could impact its market share and profitability. Currently, NPIC is the only key player for the clearing and settlement of transactions in multiple retail service segments in India, but there is no regulatory restriction on the entry of a new player, it noted.