Walmart-backed digital payments platform PhonePe retained its dominance in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem in May after it processed 10.73 billion transactions, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

UPI recorded 23.2 billion transactions during the month, up from 22.35 billion transactions in April. The total transaction value also rose to Rs 29.90 lakh crore as the payments network continued to witness strong momentum across merchant and peer-to-peer payments.

PhonePe accounted for 46.3% of total UPI transaction volume in May. In value terms, the platform held a 49.1% share after transactions worth Rs 14.67 lakh crore.

Google Pay retained the second spot with 7.60 billion transactions during May, which translated to a 32.8% market share by volume. By value, its share stood at 33.5% after transactions worth Rs 10.03 lakh crore.

Paytm remained the third-largest UPI player with 1.84 billion transactions. The fintech major captured 7.9% market share by volume and 6.7% by value.

PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm each registered their highest-ever monthly transaction volumes in May as UPI transaction activity continued to rise.

Among emerging players, Navi recorded more than 824 million transactions and strengthened its position in the ecosystem. Flipkart-backed super.money handled 419 million transactions, while BHIM registered 227 million transactions during the month.

Smaller but fast-growing platforms also gained traction. FamApp by Trio recorded around 197 million transactions, while CRED handled 157 million transactions worth Rs 61,002 crore. Despite its relatively lower transaction volume, CRED continued to command 2% in value share, a sign of higher average ticket sizes among its users.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp crossed 150 million transactions during May. Axis Bank's apps contributed 134 million transactions across customer-initiated, B2C, and B2B payments.

PhonePe and Google Pay together accounted for nearly 79% of UPI transaction volume and 82.6% of transaction value during the month. The two platforms remained far ahead of other players in the country's digital payments ecosystem.

UPI spending in May continued to center around everyday consumption categories. Groceries and supermarkets led with 3.87 billion transactions, followed by fast food restaurants (1.50 billion) and restaurants (1.29 billion). Telecom services and fuel stations also ranked among the top categories. Digital gold purchases remained almost unchanged from April, with transaction volume rising to 249 million from 245 million, while transaction value stood at Rs 2,451 crore compared with Rs 2,499 crore in the previous month. The category remained among the top 10 merchant segments by transaction volume.

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