• Dr.Gaduputi Ayyanna

“Foreign Ownership, Market Concentration and Financial Sovereignty of India’s UPI Ecosystem” Dr Gaduputi Ayyanna, Lecturer in Economics, Government Degree College, Uravakonda Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh – 515812, Mail.Id: gaduputiharthik@gmail.com Abstract India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has transformed digital payments by enabling fast, interoperable, and convenient financial transactions. However, the dominance of a few payment applications associated with multinational corporations raises questions about market concentration, data governance, competition, and financial sovereignty. This study examines these issues using secondary data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), government publications, corporate disclosures, and published research. The study uses simple percentage analysis, the two-application concentration ratio (CR₂), and the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI) to examine application-level concentration. In September 2026, PhonePe and Google Pay accounted for approximately 77.80% of UPI payer-application transaction volume. The study argues that foreign ownership does not automatically undermine financial sovereignty because India's core UPI infrastructure remains domestically governed. Nevertheless, excessive application-level concentration may create challenges relating to competition, data governance, and technological dependence. The paper recommends stronger competition oversight, transparent data practices, and greater diversity among payment applications.

Keywords: UPI, foreign ownership, market concentration, financial sovereignty, digital payments, NPCI.

"“Foreign Ownership, Market Concentration and Financial Sovereignty of India’s UPI Ecosystem”", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 10, page no.c286-c291, October-2026, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2610233.pdf

"“Foreign Ownership, Market Concentration and Financial Sovereignty of India’s UPI Ecosystem”", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 10, page no. ppc286-c291, October-2026, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2610233.pdf