India Tops IMF-FIS Fast Payments Report 2025
Why in the news
A joint IMF and FIS Global study placed India ahead of Brazil, Singapore, the UK and the US in real-time payments.
Key facts
- Report scores 30 countries on the Faster Payment Adoption Score (FPAS).
- UPI: 640+ million daily transactions, 491 million users, 65 million merchants, 675+ banks, transfers under 5 seconds.
- India seeks UPI as a standard for BRICS+ payments.
Strengths
| Feature | Basis |
|---|---|
| Interoperability | Across banks and apps |
| Inclusion | Aadhaar, USSD, multilingual, offline-lite |
| Stack | Aadhaar, eKYC, DigiLocker, Account Aggregator |
Limitations
- Limited offline access; cross-border gaps.
- Weak data privacy enforcement; non-standard dispute redressal.
- Exclusion of senior citizens and non-digital users.
Exam angle
- Index: FPAS.
- Countries where UPI operates: 7.