As demand of people for easy financial transaction, UPI plays a major role. National payment corporation of India (NPCI) allows instant money transfer between bank accounts using mobile devices, innovate UPI, launched in 2016. Because of easy accessibility, it becomes very popular and widely accepted by consumers, businesses and the government. There is tremendous move towards cashless transaction in India by 2023. Google pay, phone Pe and Paytm become widely accepted. The objective of the study is to explore how people use UPI; their preferences and challenges and their satisfaction level related to digital transaction. Knowing the demographics of UPI users, it is important to understand how much the system reaches among different age, gender and occupation. Result of research shows that age group between 18 to 24 uses more than other age group. As male and female are in the balanced number. Purpose behind transaction such as for paying bill, online shopping and transferring money. Along with the UPI benefits it faces many problems such as a transaction failure and security; this study searches out these issues and how these are satisfied with urgent security measures, also pointing out the need of the fraud detection and privacy policies. There are lots of suggestions for new features and improvement like biometric authentication, better customer service and support for international transactions [1-3].

RBI plays an important role in promoting and regulating UPI. This study explores how users perceive government and RBI efforts, especially awareness campaign and technological advancements to ensure the systems reliability and continuous growth. This study provides a detailed analysis of UPI’s impact, such as how people   handle this financial matter. By   knowing  users’ experiences and preferences facilitator can make more improvement in UPI functioning so that can help India to move towards a digitally empowered economy.

Study Design and Setting

We use time series (cross-section) design to investigate, how people use UPI. user preferences and challenges they face and satisfaction levels are also investigated. The research was conducted from January to December 2023 in rural area of district Mandi Himachal Pradesh to get the representative sample [4].

Study Population and Sample Size

For study the targeted people aged 18 onwards, who use UPI for financial transactions. Sample size of 400 participants was chosen with a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. Stratified random sampling is used to ensure proportional. Representation across different age groups, gender, occupation and locations.

• Data Collection Tool and Techniques: For data collection, a structured questionnaire included- 

• Demographic Information:  Occupation, gender, age and location

• UPI Usage and Preferences: Preferred UPI application, Frequency of transaction and purpose

• Issues and Satisfaction with The UPI: Types of issues and satisfaction with the security measures

• Recommendations and New Features: Recommending UPI and desired advance features and improvements

• Government and RBI Role: Government and RBI efforts to promote and regulate UPI

• Additional Comments/Suggestions: Suggestions for UPI improvements

The data collection was done online as well asoffline according to the preferences of different respondents also for ensuring higher response rates and inclusivity [5].

Data Analysis

For summarize the frequencies and percentage of responses we used descriptive and statistics.  UPI usage patterns and preferences were examined to find the trend and popular applications interferential analysis Chi-Square test are used to find associations between demographic factors and UPI usage patterns, issues faced and satisfaction level. Thematic analysis is to be used to analyze and interpret qualitative data [6].

Ethical Considerations

Proper informationwas given to participants about the study’s objectives, procedures, confidentiality of their responses and the voluntary nature of participation. Consents were taken from all participants before data collection [7].

The study focused at UPI’s Performance and people experiences, usages behaviors, challenges faced, satisfaction level at different segment of the population.

Demographic Characteristics

• Gender Distribution: Results show 51.5% male and 48.5 female are using UPI, ratio between male and female is more or less equal.

• Age Gaps:  Study shows that 56% respondents are younger people including both genders. As we can distribute age group, 25-34 age group make up 28%, 35-44 age group 9% and 45-54 age group 7%

• Occupation: Students cover a large area i.e. 64.5% of the sample. Public sector employee account for 12%, self-employed 8 %, other categories 8 %, Private sector employee and retirees accounts 4% and 2% respectively [8-10]

• Geographic location: All the data collected from the rural area

This demographic data reveals that UPI appeals to a broad range of people including different age groups, genders, occupations and locations, highlighting its role in routine life of people.

Table 2 reveals that maximum use of UPI is daily bases as 63%, weekly users account for 19%, monthly users at 9 % and last those who use it rarely at 7 %. A very small portion of people about 2% reported never using UPI. Google pay stands a most favourite app used by 92.5% of respondents. PhonePe is second most preferred app used by 4.5% of respondents, while other UPI application account only 1.5%. Primary purposes of UPI usage are transferring money to friends and family (23.5%) followed by paying bills, online shopping and offline retail purchase (22%). Other combination of uses make up 34.5% shows users’ preference on UPI’s versatility [11-12].

Table 1: Demographic Information

Table 2: UPI Usage and Preferences

Table 3: Issues and Satisfaction with UPI

Table 4: Recommendations and New Features

Table 5: Government and RBI Role

Table 3 looks at the main problem while using UPI such as a transaction failure 35.5% and delayed transactions 27% being most common problems, which indicates the high need for technical improvement to make UPI transaction more reliable. Despite these problems, most users 70.5% are satisfied with the UPI current security measures. Among them 18% are very satisfied, while 11.5% are neutral. Still users appreciate the security of UPI,there is need for improvements, especially on fraud detection and privacy protection [13-14].

Table 4 indicates what users recommend for new features of UPI about 54.5% are likely to recommend UPI, and 31% shows high overall satisfaction.No doubt there are 14.5% who are neutral in this matter, 17.5% are of 

Table 6: Association Between Demographic Factors and UPI Usage Patterns

*Significant at p<0.05

Table 7: Association Between Demographic Factors and Issues Faced with UPI

*Significant at p<0.05

Table 8: Association Between Demographic Factors and Satisfaction Levels with UPI Security

*Significant at p<0.05

user looks for new features like security option, biometric and two factor authentication along with the simple user interface. They also suggested for international transactions, loyalty reward and better customers support, 14.5% want loyalty rewards and 8% want better security option combined with improved customer support. Other combination of feature accounts for 60% which shows diverse expectations of users [15-20].

Table 5 Discusses about the rules of government and RBI in promoting and regulating UPI. respondentsbelieve that government should take charge with 22% suggesting a mix of improving regulations, providing subsidies for adoption, awareness campaigns and improving technological infrastructure, 18.5% stress on improvement of better regulations and awareness campaigns. Alone 12.5% user focus on technological infrastructure, while 47% support various combinations of these actions, 61% a respondents agree for strict regulations, if we divide these percentage about 12% are strongly agree, 20.5% are neutral and 6.5% are disagree [21-25].

Most people view the RBI’s role positively, with 48.5% finding it effective, 31% very effective and 17.5 neutral only 3% areineffective. Findings shows strong support for powerful regulatory measures and proactive government involvement to ensure UPI’s growth and security.

Table 6 shows demographic factors relate to UPI patterns using Chi-Square test. Age is very important factor linked to how often people use UPI (χ2 = 18.76, p = 0.04), showing group of 18 to 24 are more likely to use UPI daily. Gender does not show a significant link to usage frequency (χ2 = 2.35, p = 0.67), indicating that both male and females use UPI in similar ways. Occupations is significantly associated with the UPIusage (χ2 = 24.89, p = 0.01). Result mainly highlighted the influence of age and occupation on UPI usage [26-31].

Table 7 examines demographic factors relate to problems and experienced with UPI.Younger users age 18-24 facing more transaction failures and delays such issues and countered (χ2 = 20.54, p = 0.01). Gender does 

Table 9: Thematic Analysis of Qualitative Data from Additional Comments or Suggestions

not significantly affect the types of issue faced (χ2 = 4.78, p = 0.31), both male and female and counter similar issues. Occupation has significantly influence on the problem experienced (χ2 = 32.11, p = 0.00, all these findings shows that younger user, especially students are more likely to experience transaction issues, need for improved reliability and user support [32-34].

Table 8 indicates how demographic factors relate to satisfaction with the UPI security. Younger users age group 18-24 being more satisfied with the satisfaction level (χ2 = 15.34, p = 0.02). Both male and females have similar satisfaction level (χ2 = 2.01, p = 0.73) does not show a significant association. Occupation is significantly associated with the satisfaction (χ2 = 19.78, p = 0.04). While location does not a significantly affect satisfaction(χ2 = 3.66, p = 0.72). The outcome shows that younger users especially studentsare generally more satisfied with UPI security measures.

Table 9 examines arithmetic analysis of user comments and suggestions. Most of the user need security announcement (18.75%) such a better fraud detection, privacy policy and stronger authentication measures. Server reliability is also a major problem (10%) need a stable server support. Other concerns like monopoly and transaction fees (9.5%) are also there. User desire for international payment capabilities more public knowledge about UPI (15.75%) through awareness and educational programs. 12.5% users focus on improving a technological infrastructure and ensuring availability in a rural area. Specific suggestion (5.75%) includes recommendations like double checking transaction details and compulsory SMS notifications. These findings provide a user’s understanding and expectations and users UPI improvement

The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application merging several banking features and merchant payments into one hood. It also caters to the peer to peer collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched UPI in 2016 and quickly it has become very popular because it is easy to use. With above context \NPCI conducted a pilot launch with 21 member banks. The pilot launch was on 11^th April, 2016 by Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor, RBI at Mumbai. Banks have started to upload their UPI enabled Apps on Google Play Store from 25^th August, 2016 onwards.

The demographic analysis showed that UPI is a unique system of financial transactions. It immediately makes transactions through mobile device round the clock 24X7 and 365 days.

The younger people especially, make its usage those aged 18 -24 years. As per previous studies they are more likely to use digital payment methods, highlighting the need for targeted marketing. 

As per gender distribution 48.5% female and 51.5% male users indicating that UPI is widely accepted across genders. In terms of occupation, students are the largest group of UPI users with 64.5%, public sector employees 12% and self-employed individuals 8%. The common usages of UPI are utility bill payments, counter payments, QR code-based payments, donations, collections and merchant payments etc. 

The UPI has become an essential part of daily financial activities for many users. The Google Pay is the most preferred application of 92.5% people. It has the second largest market share on the paramount Unified Payment Interface paymentsrail and is now pushing into consumer and merchant lending. The main user for UPI included transferring money to friends and family (23.5%), paying bills (22%), online shopping and offline retail, purchases, demonstrating UPI’s versatility in handing various financial transactions. 

Despite its advantages, UPI users face several challenges. One of the primary challenges faced by PSPs operating through UPI gateways in India is the frequent occurrence of technical glitches and downtime. The surge in digital transactions, especially during peak hours, often leads to system overloads, causing delays and disruptions in payment processing. Second challenge is delay in payments due to network or bank server issues and sometimes deducted money can take up to 28 hours to be credited in account back.

While UPI payments apps are generally safe. It is important to be cautious and aware of potential frauds. Here are some common UPI related scams and how to protect yourself. Beware of request money frauds, because scammers often target users on online platforms by posing as potential buyers or e-commerce representatives. 

Comparing our study with others reveals that the patterns of UPI usages, challenges faced and satisfaction levels are broadly consistent across different studies. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of user preferences and suggestions. While other studies have highlighted similar issues and recommendations, this study’s holistic approach offers a nuanced viewed of theUPI ecosystem, capturing the diverse experiences of users across different demographics and regions.

The detailed study of UPI has shown that it has revolutionized the way we make digital payment in India, but it is not without its limitations and challenges. By acknowledging   and addressing concerned such as network connectivity, security, transaction limits, awareness and customer supports, we can foster of more inclusive and efficient UPI ecosystem. Continuous innovation, collaboration between stake holders and proactive measures to enhance security and user experience will be key in overcoming these challenges and realizing the full potential of UPI as a transformative digital payment platform.

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