India’s digital payment surge needs a security reset

By Harish Soni, Resiliency and Security Practice Leader, Kyndryl India

India’s digital payments ecosystem has scaled rapidly, powered by the twin forces of agile fintechs and resilient banking rails. During 2024-25, total digital payments recorded growth of 34.8% and 17.9 % in volume and value terms, respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s introduction of the e-rupee and integration by platforms like Google Pay, AmazonPay, and PhonePe reflect a shift where digital transactions are now central to India’s financial system. This scale brings rising expectations for performance, security, and uninterrupted availability.
Additionally, operational risks are increasing. A five-hour UPI disruption in April 2025 caused ripple effects across consumers, businesses, and institutions. Consumer expectations have evolved to requiring 24×7 availability and uncompromised security. Yet incidents of frauds are rising sharply. According to the Ministry of Finance, an 85% rise in domestic UPI fraud was reported in fiscal ...