₹99 here, ₹249 there: how small UPI payments add up

Most UPI payments are small

Small payments are most of what we do on UPI. In FY2025-26, 86% of UPI payments to merchants were under ₹500. Each one is too small to think about, which is exactly why the total surprises people. The problem is rarely one big purchase. It's the same small one, repeated.

Personal finance writers call this the latte factor. In India it's more often the chai, the delivery fee, the cab surge and the ₹199 subscription you forgot you had.

What six everyday habits cost in a year

Multiply a small habit by how often it happens and it stops being small. Two ₹20 chais a day come to ₹14,600 a year. Paying a ₹17.58 platform fee on three food orders a week adds ₹2,742. Six habits like these add up to more than ₹36,000 a year.

₹36,266 is a short trip, a few months of a SIP, or most of an emergency fund for a student. Nobody decided to spend it. It just happened ₹40 at a time.

Why we don't notice small spends

We judge each payment on its own, and on its own ₹40 is nothing. Our brains don't add up dozens of tiny amounts across a month. UPI makes it harder, because the payments are spread across apps and none of them feels like money leaving.

There's also a timing trick. A small spend gives you something right now: tea, a ride, a snack. The cost shows up much later, as a vague feeling that the month ran out early. We're built to favour the now. More on that in why UPI makes you spend more.

Find your own biggest habit in 15 minutes

Open last month's UPI history, write down every merchant that shows up more than three times, add each one up, and multiply by 12. The biggest yearly number is your target. You'll usually find one habit that costs more than you'd guess.

1. 1

   Open one month of history

   Your UPI app, or your bank statement if you use more than one app.

2. 2

   List the repeats

   Any merchant or type of spend that appears more than three times. Delivery, cabs, cafés and quick-commerce are the usual ones.

3. 3

   Add up each one

   Total per merchant for the month.

4. 4

   Multiply by 12

   The yearly number is the one that changes minds. ₹1,800 a month feels fine; ₹21,600 a year doesn't.

Subscriptions hide well here, because they take money on their own. If you spot one you don't use, here's how to cancel UPI AutoPay.

Cut one habit, not all of them

Trying to cut every small spend at once fails, because it turns life into a list of rules. Pick the one habit with the biggest yearly cost that you also care least about. Halve it, not stop it. Halving the chai habit alone saves ₹7,300 a year.

Keep the small things you love. Coffee with a friend is money well spent. The goal is to stop paying for the things you don't even notice enjoying.

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