NPCI's income rises 19%, profit jumps 42% in FY25
Despite being a Section 8 'not-for-profit' entity, the National Payments Corporation of India maintains strong revenue, driven by infrastructure services and financial products.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the non-profit umbrella organisation behind India’s most critical digital payment systems, has reported a reported a strong set of numbers for FY25, with both revenue and profitability registering sharp increases.
Operating income rose 18.95% year-on-year to Rs 3,270 crore, up from Rs 2,749 crore in FY2024, according to unaudited and provisional figures disclosed by ratings agency ICRA.
Surplus after tax climbed 41.73% to Rs 1,552 crore, compared to Rs 1,095 crore the year before. NPCI shows a 'surplus' instead of profit after tax (PAT) due to NPCI's not-for-profit corporate structure, which categorises earnings as surplus rather than profit.
Profitability improved, with surplus accounting for 47.5% of operating income, up from 39.8% in FY2024.
NPCI operates a fee-based business model. Despite being a Section 8 'not-for-profit' entity, NPCI maintains strong revenue, driven by infrastructure services and financial products.
The company facilitates the clearing and settlement of transactions across platforms such as UPI, RuPay and NACH. It earns revenue based on transaction volumes, with fees determined by an independent committee. These fees include onboarding and integration-related support provided to partners, membership fees, compliance fees, hologram and card issuance fees, and sub-licence fees for software/IP use.
NPCI also earns significant non-operational income through interest on SGM (settle guarantee mechanism) funds and interest on deposits and securities.
The company processed 21,360 crore transactions in FY2025, up 32.67% from 16,100 crore the previous year.
To ensure settlement continuity and system stability, NPCI maintains a Settlement Guarantee Fund (SGF) of Rs 17,892 crore. It also had access to credit lines worth Rs 13,667 crore and held Rs 2,288 crore in unencumbered cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2025.
NPCI was established in 2008 to facilitate digital payments in India. It was founded to create a robust payment and settlement infrastructure, promoting financial inclusion and cashless transactions.
According to the RBI, India accounted for 48.5% of all real-time payment transactions worldwide by volume, largely attributed to UPI’s scale and reach.
Edited by Swetha Kannan