UPI frauds: 6.32 lakh fraud cases worth Rs 485 crore in April-September

26 Nov 2024, 06:43 PM

According to the data revealed by the Ministry of Finance in a reply to Parliament, UPI fraud incidents surged by 85% in FY24.

Arti Singh

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become increasingly popular in India, with total transaction volume and value rising steadily over the past three fiscal years. This growth has been accompanied by a surge in fraud, with incidents more than doubling between FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24.

UPI fraud incidents surged by 85% in FY24. The country reported 13.42 lakh fraud cases worth Rs 1087 crore in FY 24. In FY23, the number of cases reported were 7.25 lakh involving a total value of Rs 573 crore.

According to the data revealed by the Ministry of Finance in a reply to Parliament, India has already recorded 6.32 lakh fraud incidents worth Rs 485 crore as of September 2024 (FY25).

Total UPI transactions grew 8,371 crore in FY23 to 13,113 crore in FY24 in terms of volume; and Rs 139 lakh crore (FY23) to Rs 199.96 crore (FY24) in terms of value. In FY25 (between April-September), the country reported Rs 8566.5 crore in terms of UPI transaction volume and Rs 122 crore in terms of value.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has implemented a Central Payment Fraud Information Registry (CPFIR), a payment related fraud reporting tool since March 2020. All regulated entities (REs) are required to report the payment related frauds to the said CPFIR. 

In order to prevent payment related frauds including UPI transaction frauds, various initiatives have been taken, which includes device binding, PIN-based two-factor authentication, and daily transaction limits.

The RBI is also working to expand the global reach of UPI. One of the key objectives is to link UPI with fast payment systems in other countries for personal remittances. This would allow Indian citizens to send money abroad more easily.

The author is Founder and Editor of The Head and Tale. She can be reached at [email protected]
Tweets @artijourno