The Union finance ministry has informed the Parliament that more than 95,000 fraud cases of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions were recorded in the country in 2022-23, an increase from 77,000 cases in 2020-21, and 84,0000 cases in 2021-22.
More than ₹125 crores worth of UPI transactions were completed last year alone, data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has revealed, an uptick from the last three years.
The Indian digital payments system also gained global acceptance, with Singapore, the UAE, Mauritius, Nepal and Bhutan being among the countries that have adopted UPI, the ministry said.
The data was revealed in response to a question raised by Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma over the increasing cases of digital payments fraud in India.
“UPI applications provide an in-app intimation of a user initiating payment to an unknown beneficiary, the device-binding concept, wherein a user’s mobile number is bound with his mobile device, which makes it nearly impossible for anyone to interject,” Dr Bhagwat Karad, minister of state for finance told the Parliament.
The government has also come up with the national cybercrime reporting portal to register grievances, Karad added.