Tue Oct 14 02:30:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and a rewritten news article based on the provided text:

**Summary:**

A recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) study, using PhonePe transaction data, reveals that Telangana has the highest usage intensity of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in India. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra also show high UPI usage. The study suggests UPI’s rise is contributing to a decline in cash demand, evidenced by falling ATM withdrawals. UPI is increasingly used for small, everyday payments (peer-to-merchant), with transaction values decreasing. While southern and western states lead in UPI adoption due to urbanization and economic activity, northeastern states, along with Kerala, Goa, and Delhi, still have high cash withdrawal intensity, potentially due to tourism, remittance, rural cash dependence, or limited digital infrastructure.

**News Article:**

**UPI Usage Soars in Telangana, Signaling Shift Away From Cash**

**NEW DELHI, October 14, 2025** – Telangana leads the nation in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction intensity, according to a new study published in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest bulletin. The study, leveraging PhonePe data, indicates a significant shift in consumer behavior, with digital payments increasingly replacing cash transactions across the country.

The research highlights that Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra also demonstrate strong UPI adoption rates. The surge in UPI usage is correlated with a decline in cash demand, as evidenced by a decrease in ATM withdrawals as a percentage of GDP. The trend is further fueled by the rising popularity of peer-to-merchant (P2M) payments for everyday, low-value purchases, with the average UPI transaction amount steadily decreasing.

“The data clearly shows that UPI is becoming the preferred method of payment for a wide range of transactions, particularly those under ₹500,” said Sakshi Awasthy, co-author of the RBI paper.

While southern and western states are leading the charge in UPI adoption, driven by urbanization and robust economies, some states show a continued reliance on cash. The study points to higher cash withdrawal intensity in several northeastern states, as well as Kerala, Goa, and even Delhi. Researchers attribute this to factors like tourism, service-led cash usage, remittance inflows, rural areas lacking robust digital infrastructure, and a continued dependence on cash.

The RBI study utilized PhonePe data, which represents a significant portion of the UPI ecosystem, accounting for 58% of the total UPI transaction volume. The findings suggest that the growth of UPI is reshaping India’s financial landscape, impacting both consumer behavior and the overall economy. The findings are based on an article titled ‘Impact of UPI on Cash Demand – Evidence from National and Subnational Levels’ by Sakshi Awasthy and Subrat Kumar Seet, published in the Reserve Bank of India’s September 2025 bulletin.

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