In June 2025, the Department of Financial Services (DFS), under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), organised the Digital Payments Awards 2024–25 ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi (Delhi), to honor institutions advancing India’s digital payment ecosystem. A total of 21 honours were conferred during the ceremony.
- Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, MoF and Minister of Corporate Affairs (MoCA), along with Union Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge, IC) Pankaj Chaudhary, MoF, presided over the event.
- The ceremony witnessed participation from representatives of 39 banks, 84 fintech companies, regulatory bodies, and industry associations.
About Digital Payments Awards 2024–25:
i.The award recognizes excellence in digital payments innovation and financial inclusion during Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25).
ii.10 awards were conferred to top-performing banks for their achievements in key parameters such as digital payment transactions, Merchant Acquisition, Frauds and Grievances, Acceptance Infrastructure, Product Innovations, and System Resilience.
iii.11 awards were presented to fintech companies in three categories: Emerging Third-Party Application Providers (TPAPs), Digital Payments Acceptance Infrastructure, and Technical Service Providers.
Some Award Winners by Category:
| Rank | Award Winner | Headquarters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Sector Banks (PSBs) | |||||
| 1 | Punjab National Bank (PNB) | New Delhi, Delhi | |||
| 2 | Bank of Baroda (BoB) | Vadodara, Gujarat | |||
| 3 | UCO Bank | Kolkata, West Bengal (WB) | |||
| Private Sector Banks | |||||
| 1 | HDFC Bank | Mumbai, Maharashtra | |||
| 2 | City Union Bank (CUB) | Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu (TN) | |||
| 3 | IndusInd Bank | Mumbai, Maharashtra | |||
| Small Finance Banks (SFB) | |||||
| 1 | Equitas Small Finance Bank | Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN) | |||
| Payments Banks | |||||
| 1 | India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) | New Delhi, Delhi | |||
| Fintech | |||||
| 1 | PhonePe | Bengaluru, Karnataka | |||
Key Achievements of Award Winners:
i.IPPB is 100% Government of India (GoI)-owned under the Department of Posts (DoP), Ministry of Communications (MoC), leveraged 2 lakh postmen and Gramin Dak Sevaks to provide doorstep banking in 5.57 lakh villages.
ii.PhonePe recognized for building offline digital payments infrastructure, enhancing accessibility in remote areas.
iii.CUB was awarded for innovations such as voice-based UPI 123Pay, multilingual chatbots, and tap-and-go payments using wearables.
India’s Digital Payments Milestones:
i.UPI performance: India recorded an impressive 18,587 crore Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions worth Rs. 261 lakh crore in the Financial Year 2024-25 (FY25).
- UPI currently has 35 crore active users in India and is operational in seven countries worldwide.
ii.Fintech Adoption: India recorded an impressive 87% fintech adoption rate, which surpassed the global average of 67%.
- During the event, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that India’s fintech market is expected to surpass USD 400 billion by 2028–29.
iii.Financial Inclusion: 80% coverage achieved within 6 years, a milestone earlier estimated to require 50 years.
iv.Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): 55.54 crore accounts opened (30.99 crore women-owned; 37.05 crore in rural/semi-urban areas) with deposits exceeding Rs. 2.57 lakh crore.
v.Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): Rs.44.34 lakh crore transferred directly to beneficiaries.
About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB):
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) -R. Viswesvaran
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Established – 2018
