The speed of Digital India is going to increase further. From June 16, 2025, your UPI payments will be completed in just 15 seconds. Till now this process used to take an average of 30 seconds.
Announcing this change, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has instructed all banks and payment service providers (PSPs) to halve the API response time i.e. the speed of transaction completion.
This will not only make the use of UPI faster but also more reliable. At present, when you make payment by scanning a QR code at a shop, your bank (eg ICICI) sends a request to the receiver’s bank (eg HDFC) through NPCI’s network. After this, it is confirmed whether the transaction was successful or not, and its answer comes back to your bank. This same process will now be twice as fast as before – that is, in just 15 seconds instead of 30 seconds.
Status checking and refund will also be fast
The new rules also state that if for some reason the transaction remains incomplete, then now the process of status update and refund will also be faster than before. Earlier, where the bank was allowed to check the status only after 90 seconds of the transaction, now this time has been reduced to 45-60 seconds.
A look at the growth of UPI
- In April 2025, there were 17.89 billion transactions through UPI, showing a growth of 34% year-on-year.
- Transaction value stood at Rs 23.95 lakh crore, an increase of 22%.
- However, there was a slight decline compared to March, possibly due to the difference in the number of days in the month (31 in March, 30 in April).
What does this mean for you?
- Less waiting time: Payment processing will be faster even in crowded places
- Improved refund experience: Quick status and money back on failed transactions
- Less dependency on connectivity: Encrypted and fast communication
This initiative by NPCI will not only make UPI faster but will also make India’s digital transaction ecosystem more competitive globally.
