UPI is a popular mode of payment, but it is still limited by gender disparities and online scams

UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, is a digital payments system that connects bank accounts through authorised apps. It allows a person to send money directly from one bank account to another without handling cash. Its importance lies in making everyday payments faster and easier, while reducing dependence on physical currency.

A user selects a recipient, enters or scans a payment address, and approves the transaction. The system checks the user’s bank account and security authorisation, then transfers the money through participating banks. Apps such as BHIM, PhonePe and Google Pay provide interfaces for using this network.

The article presents UPI as a major transformation, but not an evenly shared one. Richer states average about 13 UPI transactions per person each month, while poorer states average barely four. Wider adoption will depend on better access, security awareness, local-language tools and control over personal devices.

UPI use varies sharply with geography, prosperity and gender. Between April and June 2025, Maharashtra recorded over 6 billion transactions, nearly twice Karnataka’s figure of just under 4 billion. Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu also ranked among the leading states. These totals reflect population as well as adoption.

Per-person figures show the deeper divide. Residents of richer states average about 13 UPI transactions each month. Residents of poorer states average barely four. The article identifies a state’s economic prosperity as a predictor of UPI adoption. Uttar Pradesh is an exception in the rankings because its huge population produces high absolute volumes.

Gender differences are also substantial. Women account for only a quarter of UPI users, although they hold more than half of India’s Jan Dhan accounts. Limited phone ownership, shared devices and patriarchal social structures help explain why high bank-account ownership has not translated into equal digital-payment use.

Women use UPI less often because access to the tools and decisions behind digital payments is unequal. Although women hold more than half of Jan Dhan accounts, they represent only a quarter of UPI users. The article connects this gap to patriarchy, limited phone ownership and weaker control over personal devices.

Only 50% of rural women own a mobile phone, compared with over 80% of rural men. Many women depend on shared or borrowed phones, which reduces privacy and control. Meenakshi Gaur worries that digital payments will deduct money directly from her account and make balances difficult to track. For street vendor Kulsum, digital payments send income to her son’s phone rather than into her hand.

These barriers make cash feel safer and more visible. They also show why bank-account ownership alone is not enough. NPCI and Women’s World Banking are working to bring rural and low-income women into the UPI system through stronger digital financial literacy.

A UPI scam can turn a convenient payment into an unauthorised loss. If a user is tricked into approving a fraudulent transaction, money may leave the linked bank account. The harm is financial, but it can also be emotional: users may feel exposed, confused or unable to control their own money.

The article highlights why this risk matters for new users. Meenakshi Gaur fears that digital payments will deduct money directly from her account and make it difficult to track what remains. When people lack security knowledge, they may not recognise a scam or understand which payment request is safe to approve. A fraudulent deduction can therefore reinforce the belief that cash is more reliable.

To reduce this danger, India funds financial-literacy and consumer-protection campaigns. RBI’s “RBI Kehta Hai” and NPCI’s “Main Moorkh Nahi Hoon” campaigns dramatise scams and teach safer UPI use. Better awareness can protect money and strengthen trust in digital payments.

NPCI is the central institution behind key parts of India’s UPI ecosystem. It operates BHIM, India’s indigenous payments app, and supports initiatives such as financial-literacy campaigns and conversational UPI. Banks connect customers’ accounts to the payment network and process the transfers.

PhonePe and Google Pay are private apps that provide users with ways to make UPI payments. Together, they handle over 80% of UPI volumes. Paytm is another competitor mentioned in the article. BHIM lost early market share after its introduction immediately after demonetisation, but now operates through NBSL, or NPCI BHIM Services Limited.

BHIM has a renewed two-part mandate. It offers a sovereign hedge against concentration in a duopoly and aims to serve excluded users whom profit-driven private players may overlook. Its local-language voice feature, called Conversational UPI or Hello UPI, is intended to make payments easier for people facing English or access barriers.

Financial literacy, local-language interfaces and fraud detection address different barriers at once. Literacy campaigns help people understand how UPI works, recognise scams and follow security rules. Voice payments can remove the language barrier. Better fraud detection can identify suspicious activity before it causes a larger loss, although the article does not describe a specific detection technology.

The article gives concrete examples. RBI supports the National Strategy for Financial Education, Financial Literacy Week and “RBI Kehta Hai.” NPCI runs “Main Moorkh Nahi Hoon,” using Pankaj Tripathi to dramatise scams. BHIM’s Conversational UPI, or Hello UPI, aims to let users make payments in local languages through voice commands.

These measures could make UPI more usable for rural, low-income and less digitally confident people. They could also rebuild trust among users worried about fraud. Inclusion will require more than an app: people need understandable instructions, safe systems and control over the devices and accounts they use.

Digital payment control is spread across several essentials. A person needs a usable phone, access to a bank account, personal identification or account credentials, and knowledge of security rules. They also need privacy while completing the payment. Without these pieces, a payment may be impossible, unsafe or controlled by another person.

The article shows how this works in daily life. Only 50% of rural women own a mobile phone, and many use shared or borrowed devices. Kulsum says digital payments go to her son’s phone instead of into her hand. Meenakshi Gaur worries about tracking deductions from her bank account. These examples show that access does not automatically mean control.

Losing one element can create exclusion. No personal phone limits privacy and independence. Weak account access blocks transactions. Poor security knowledge increases scam risk. Language barriers can also prevent use. BHIM’s local-language voice payments and financial-literacy campaigns are designed to address some of these gaps.