New Delhi, August 28: A recent report released on Friday reveals that the total value of digital payments made to merchants in July 2026 soared by 19.6%, reaching ₹11.73 lakh crore. This growth is attributed to an increase in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions and credit card spending.
According to data compiled by Equirus Securities, the value of digital payments to merchants in July 2025 was ₹9.80 lakh crore. Compared to June 2026, which recorded ₹11.17 lakh crore, July also saw a monthly increase of nearly 5%.
The report indicates that UPI merchant payments (P2M) and credit card transactions remained the primary drivers of this digital payment growth. In July, UPI-based merchant payments grew by 23.5% year-on-year, while credit card spending increased by 7.4%.
During July, the total value of UPI-P2M transactions reached ₹9.066 lakh crore, accounting for 77.3% of all digital merchant payments. This share increased by 22 basis points from June and by 243 basis points compared to the same period last year, indicating a strong and growing adoption of UPI payments among merchants in India.
Credit card spending in July amounted to ₹2.081 lakh crore, a 3.4% rise from June. The share of credit cards in total digital merchant payments was 17.7%.
In contrast, spending via debit cards saw a slight year-on-year decline of 0.8%. However, it experienced a monthly increase of 7.4%, bringing total spending to ₹37,700 crore.
The report also highlighted that approximately ₹6,600 crore was spent through prepaid cards, while digital wallets accounted for around ₹13,700 crore. Together, these two methods facilitated transactions totaling ₹20,300 crore, marking a 41.1% increase from the previous year and a 4.3% rise from June.
Meanwhile, the credit card market continued to expand, with the number of active credit cards reaching 12.29 crore in July, an increase of 12.67 lakh from the previous month.
E-commerce platforms remained the largest avenue for credit card usage. In July, 63.6% of total credit card spending occurred through e-commerce, up from 63.1% in June. The average monthly e-commerce spending per credit card was ₹10,772, while average spending at point-of-sale machines was ₹6,165.
When examining transaction sizes, the average value of a credit card transaction in e-commerce was ₹4,301, compared to ₹2,579 for point-of-sale transactions.
The report also noted an increase in the average monthly transaction count per credit card, rising to 4.90 from 4.75 in June. This reflects the growing acceptance of digital payments and cashless transactions among consumers.
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