As per transaction trends for the October 2025 till March 2026, brokers facilitated the highest volume of activity with over 21.3 crore transactions
The use of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for market participation seems robust, going by data collated by SEBI for the first time. The markets regulator, in its latest annual report, said the banking sector’s UPI infrastructure is vital for market participation.
As per transaction trends for the October 2025 till March 2026, brokers facilitated the highest volume of activity with over 21.3 crore transactions, totalling ₹2.95 lakh crore, followed by IPOs (processed about 1.07 crore transactions, amounting to ₹20,458 crore), and Mutual Funds (recording over 70.36 lakh transactions, totalling ₹8,475 crore).
Further, Research Analysts received ₹107 crore in fees through 2.53 lakh transactions and Investment Advisors collected ₹19 crore in fees via 56,725 transactions,
The aforementioned data on funds and fees received by retail investor-facing intermediaries through verified IDs over a six-month period comes in the wake of the rollout of the validated UPI framework in October 2025.
Structural Changes
The UPI transaction activity in the markets should be seen in the context of SEBI implementing structural changes during FY26 to enhance safety and transparency.
Anu Aggarwal, Head Corporate & Transaction Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank, observed that UPI is rapidly evolving into critical investment infrastructure for India, driven by customers’ preference for convenience, speed and control. Mutual funds account for only 0.6 per cent of P2M (Person to Merchant) UPI transaction volumes but contribute 8 per cent in value terms, reflecting the higher value of these transactions.
“At our Bank, we have built specialised UPI capabilities for SIPs, lump-sum investments and AutoPay mandates, supported by reporting and transaction visibility. With 60-70 per cent of retail IPO applications now made through UPI ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount), our scalable infrastructure can handle up to 5,000 transactions per second during large IPOs.
“As payments and investments converge, we expect UPI to become an increasingly important channel for wealth creation, enabling a simpler and more reliable experience for investors, brokers and AMCs,” Aggarwal said.
Beyond MFs
Rohan Mandora, Director, Equirus Securities, opined that UPI is becoming a structural enabler of capital-market participation, extending beyond IPO and mutual fund payments to routine broker funding. During October 2025 – March 2026, validated UPI handles processed 23.1 crore transactions worth ₹3,24,800 crore across brokers, IPOs, mutual funds and investment services with brokers contributing 92 per cent of volumes.
He expects UPI adoption to rise alongside India’s expanding investor base – 22.5 crore demat accounts and 12.2 crore unique accounts as of March 2026.
Mandora said validated “@valid” handles and SEBI Check are creating a secure, standardized payment layer, reducing funding friction and fraud risk while supporting broader retail participation across broking, IPOs, mutual funds and advisory services.
Published on August 20, 2026
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