India's celebrated surge in digital payments, led by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), presents a picture of stark regional inequality when viewed through a per-capita lens. While headline numbers showcase massive transaction volumes, a deeper analysis adjusted for population reveals a multi-speed digital economy where affluent, urbanized states are racing far ahead of others.
The Per-Capita Reality: A Tale of Two Indias
As of November 2025, normalizing UPI transaction data with state populations using Unique Identification Authority of India figures exposes sharp disparities. Maharashtra, India's largest state economy, records nearly seven times the per-capita UPI transactions of Bihar. Similarly, Telangana, in second place overall, posts more than six times the average of Tripura. While Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala sit comfortably above the national mean, states like Jharkhand, Assam, and West Bengal languish at the bottom.
This analysis strips away the distortion of sheer population size, showing that UPI's penetration depth is closely tied to income levels, urbanization, and merchant acceptance rather than scale alone. UPI, which handles over 20 billion transactions monthly and dominates about 85% of digital payments, thus serves as a potent proxy for broader economic activity and digital infrastructure.
Leaders and Laggards in the Digital Race
When population is factored in, smaller, highly urbanized regions dominate the rankings. Delhi leads the nation with approximately 23.9 transactions per person per month, followed closely by Goa (23.3), Telangana (22.6), and Chandigarh (22.5). Among the larger states, Maharashtra stands out with roughly 17.4 transactions per capita, a reflection of its dense urban networks and high QR code acceptance among merchants.
The value of transactions further underlines this digital depth. Telangana leads in per-capita monthly UPI value at around Rs 34,800, ahead of Goa (Rs 33,500) and Delhi (Rs 31,300). This pattern indicates the routine use of UPI for higher-value payments across organized commerce and professional services in these regions.
The Persistent Gap in Adoption
At the opposite end of the spectrum, digital adoption remains shallow. Bihar and Tripura average fewer than four UPI transactions per person each month, with transaction values hovering around Rs 5,400 and Rs 5,100 respectively. Jharkhand, Assam, and West Bengal cluster closely behind. A resident of Delhi transacts via UPI roughly six times more often than someone in Bihar or Tripura, highlighting vast gaps in person-to-merchant digital infrastructure, particularly in eastern and north-eastern India.
Regional patterns solidify this picture. A south-west corridor stretching from Maharashtra through Karnataka to Telangana shows consistently high transaction frequency and value, signaling mature digital ecosystems. The north-east presents a mixed bag: while Tripura and Assam lag significantly, states like Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim show relatively higher per-capita use, potentially due to terrain-driven reliance on digital substitutes for physical cash.
Bridging the Divide: The Road Ahead for UPI
The upshot is a clear digital divide that runs along familiar socio-economic lines. As UPI prepares for its next phase of growth, narrowing this per-capita gap will be critical for inclusive digital finance. The path forward depends on accelerating wider smartphone access, building more reliable internet networks, and streamlining merchant onboarding processes in the lagging states. The journey towards a uniformly digital India remains a work in progress, with the UPI data serving as a precise map of the distance yet to be covered.
