NPCI FY26 Financials: Revenue Reaches ₹4,240 Crore, Net Surplus Drops 32% Amid Rising Marketing & Tax Burden
NEW DELHI — The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella entity operating India’s retail payments infrastructure including UPI and RuPay, has released its consolidated annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026.
The payments body delivered strong top-line growth with revenue from operations surging nearly 22% year-on-year to ₹4,239.97 crore, up from ₹3,480.77 crore in FY25. However, its net surplus (reported as profit, given its not-for-profit structure) slumped 32.4% to ₹989.45 crore, down from ₹1,463.15 crore in the previous fiscal year.
The divergence between top-line expansion and bottom-line contraction was primarily driven by aggressive spending on marketing incentives and a steep rise in tax obligations.
Key Financial Snapshot (FY26 vs FY25)
| Metric | FY26 | FY25 | YoY Change |
| Revenue from Operations | ₹4,239.97 Cr | ₹3,480.77 Cr | +21.8% |
| Other Income | ₹632.63 Cr | ₹580.86 Cr | +8.9% |
| Total Income | ₹4,872.60 Cr | ₹4,061.64 Cr | +20.0% |
| Total Expenditure | ₹2,984.63 Cr | ₹2,269.82 Cr | +31.5% |
| Pre-Tax Surplus (EBT) | ₹1,887.97 Cr | ₹1,791.82 Cr | +5.4% |
| Total Tax Expense | ₹898.52 Cr | ₹328.67 Cr | +173.4% |
| Net Surplus (PAT equivalent) | ₹989.45 Cr | ₹1,463.15 Cr | -32.4% |
Payment Services Drive 88% of Core Top-Line
Payment services continued to be NPCI’s single largest revenue driver, generating ₹3,736 crore—accounting for 88% of total operating revenue—representing a 16% growth over FY25's ₹3,212 crore. The remaining revenue came from network implementation charges, certification, card-related fees, membership fees, and hologram charges.
Adding non-operating income of ₹632.63 crore (comprising interest on IT refunds, liabilities written back, and Service Guarantee Mechanism receipts), NPCI’s total income reached ₹4,872.60 crore.
Why Did the Net Surplus Decline?
Despite operational growth, two major factors compressed NPCI's bottom line:
Rising Cost Base (+31.5%): Total operational expenses swelled to ₹2,984.63 crore. Marketing and product incentives remained the largest expenditure chunk at ₹1,420.35 crore (over 47% of total costs), up 27% year-on-year. This included payments to partner banks for RuPay cards, cashbacks, B2B promotional activities, and sponsorships.
IT Infrastructure & People Costs: Employee benefit expenses rose 22% to ₹534 crore, while depreciation/amortization costs jumped 40% to ₹408.08 crore due to ongoing scaling of server capacities, AI infrastructure, and data center maintenance for high-volume UPI transactions.
173% Surge in Tax Liabilities: While NPCI's pre-tax surplus actually grew by 5.4% to ₹1,887.97 crore, its final tax provision surged to ₹898.52 crore (which included ₹330.69 crore in deferred tax). This massive tax outflow directly resulted in the 32.4% drop in post-tax surplus.
Strong Balance Sheet Position
Unit-level economics show NPCI spent ₹0.70 to earn every ₹1.00 of operating revenue in FY26. Its EBITDA grew 11% to ₹1,674 crore with a healthy EBITDA margin of 39.5%.
As of March 31, 2026, NPCI holds current assets totaling ₹8,081 crore, backed by a robust cash and bank balance reserve of ₹6,119 crore, positioning the national payments gateway strongly for future infrastructure scaling and global expansion via its subsidiaries.