Neither gold nor food—find out what Indians are buying the most using UPI..

In India, the use of UPI is no longer limited to sending money to friends or relatives. People are using UPI for everything from daily grocery shopping to purchasing fast food, medicines, fuel, electronics, and even digital gold. Data from June 2026 illustrates how the habit of digital payments has become an integral part of everyday life.

In June, a total of 22.7 billion transactions were conducted via UPI, involving a total transfer value of ₹28.9 lakh crore. This works out to an average value of approximately ₹1,273 per UPI transaction. However, this figure varied significantly across different categories; while the average payment hovered around ₹100 in some segments, it exceeded ₹8,000 per transaction in others.

**Highest UPI Transactions in the Grocery Sector**

Grocery stores and supermarkets led the way in UPI usage in June 2026. This category recorded 373.96 crore—or roughly 3.74 billion—transactions, making it the largest merchant category for the month. On average, there were about 12.5 crore grocery transactions daily, with a combined value of ₹79,705 crore. The average value of a single UPI transaction in the grocery sector was ₹213, indicating that people are frequently using UPI for small, routine purchases.

**Widespread UPI Use in Fast Food and Restaurants**

Fast-food restaurants ranked second in terms of transaction volume. This category recorded 144.91 crore transactions in June, with a total value of ₹17,418 crore. The average transaction value in the fast-food segment was just ₹120, demonstrating the widespread use of UPI for small-ticket food and beverage payments. Eateries and restaurants secured the third spot. A total of 1.24 billion (124.22 crore) transactions took place here, with a combined value of ₹21,485 crore. The average value per transaction in this category was ₹173.

**UPI Transactions by Category**
In June 2026, grocery stores and supermarkets topped the list of the top 10 merchant categories based on the number of transactions.
Grocery stores and supermarkets ranked first, with 3.74 billion (373.96 crore) transactions.
Fast-food restaurants ranked second, with 1.45 billion (144.91 crore) transactions.
Eating places and restaurants ranked third, with 1.24 billion (124.22 crore) transactions.
Telecommunications ranked fourth, with 824.3 million (82.43 crore) transactions.
Service stations ranked fifth, with 716.9 million (71.69 crore) transactions.
Cigar shops and stands ranked sixth, with 416.7 million (41.67 crore) transactions.
Bakeries ranked seventh, with 396.7 million (39.67 crore) transactions.
Drug stores and pharmacies ranked eighth, with 294.2 million (29.42 crore) transactions.
Dairy outlets ranked ninth, with 268.3 million (26.83 crore) transactions.
Digital gold ranked tenth, with 232.9 million (23.29 crore) transactions.

**Average UPI Payment Value by Category**
The picture of UPI usage is not complete based solely on the number of transactions; the average payment amount varies significantly across different categories. The average transaction value for digital gold was ₹109. For fast food, it was ₹120. The average transaction value at bakeries was ₹137, while at restaurants, it was ₹173. For grocery stores, the average transaction value was ₹213. At pharmacies, the figure reached ₹423. The average UPI transaction at service stations stood at ₹658, while for electronics purchases, it was ₹1,367. The average transaction value for debt collection was ₹3,510, whereas for securities brokers and dealers, it reached ₹8,211.

In essence, people are using UPI for small-value payments in categories like digital gold and fast food, while utilizing it for significantly larger payments in categories such as securities and debt collection.

**Grocery leads in total transaction value**
Grocery stores and supermarkets topped the list in terms of total transaction value as well. UPI transactions worth ₹79,705 crore were recorded in this category in June. Debt collection agencies ranked second, with total transactions amounting to ₹69,033 crore. Securities brokers and dealers came in third with ₹60,945 crore, followed by service stations in fourth place with ₹47,184 crore. Utility payments ranked fifth at ₹23,911 crore. Telecommunications took the sixth spot, recording UPI transactions worth ₹22,965 crore. Eating places and restaurants ranked seventh with transactions totaling ₹21,485 crore. Fast-food restaurants were eighth with ₹17,418 crore. Drug stores and pharmacies ranked ninth with ₹12,429 crore, while electronics shops rounded out the top ten with ₹12,052 crore.

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