A quiet shift is reshaping India’s recurring payments market. Even as approval rates slide, merchants across sectors are doubling down on UPI Autopay, choosing reach, lower costs, and user behaviour over the higher success rates offered by cards.
Data from the National Payments Corporation of India shows that UPI Autopay approval rates dropped by nearly 20 percentage points, from about 50% in January 2024 to 30% in November 2025. Yet, during the same period, Autopay transactions surged more than 10 times, rising to 1,272 million from around 119 million.
Industry executives told a publication that merchants continue to prioritise UPI Autopay, even if customers need to renew mandates frequently. The logic is simple: partial collections at scale still outperform smaller, high-success card bases.
Streaming platform Chana Jor relies on UPI Autopay for 85% of its subscriptions, with cards making up the rest. Its audience is largely mobile-first and prefers UPI for digital payments.
“Though cards may have better success rates, UPI cannot be ignored because that’s where user behaviour and scale lie,” founder and CEO Pratap Jain said.
Gold savings app Jar has also seen strong adoption.
“Earlier, Autopay was a privilege for a certain people who always had cash, so mandates never bounced. 80% of Indians are self-employed and cash flows are daily. With UPI Autopay, it has reached the nook and corner of the country,” said cofounder and CEO Nishchay AG.
“Even Visa and Mastercard have success rates of around 70%, it’s neither great nor bad,” he added.
UPI Autopay now dominates recurring payments. The share of cards fell from 42% in January 2024 to about 25% by late 2025, while Autopay’s share jumped from 33% to over 60%, according to payment firms.
Experts say low success rates are driven largely by user behaviour, insufficient balances, expired mandates, and bank-specific limits rather than technical failures. The technical decline rate remains near 0.5%, indicating system stability.
Merchants also favour UPI because it is simpler and cheaper. UPI has no merchant discount rate, while card MDR is typically 1.5–2%. Card mandates are harder to revoke, while UPI offers flexibility and easy cancellation.
With only about 5 crore credit card users versus nearly 40 crore UPI users, merchants see Autopay as “better than nothing.” Even 30–40% collections through Autopay can significantly reduce recovery costs for lenders.
Industry leaders believe success rates will improve as awareness grows, retries expand, and users become more comfortable with recurring debits.
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
Do Follow: The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News LinkedIn Account | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Facebook | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Youtube | The Mainstream formerly known as CIO News Twitter
About us:
The Mainstream is a premier platform delivering the latest updates and informed perspectives across the technology business and cyber landscape. Built on research-driven, thought leadership and original intellectual property, The Mainstream also curates summits & conferences that convene decision makers to explore how technology reshapes industries and leadership. With a growing presence in India and globally across the Middle East, Africa, ASEAN, the USA, the UK and Australia, The Mainstream carries a vision to bring the latest happenings and insights to 8.2 billion people and to place technology at the centre of conversation for leaders navigating the future.
