At this moment, the service is available for online ticket bookings on the ASI portal. To further encourage BHIM-UPI for such transactions, the idea of offering cashbacks as incentives is also being considered, the official added, with an announcement expected soon.
Subsequently, the option to pay via BHIM UPI QR code will be introduced at the booking counters of the heritage sites, allowing visitors to make payments seamlessly. Currently, physical counters only accept cash and do not accommodate digital payment methods.
“We are exploring ways to incentivize customers purchasing tickets at Archaeological Survey of India locations. We are collaborating with multiple entities, including metro services, to enhance customer benefits from their transactions with these merchants,” stated NBSL MD&CEO Lalitha Nataraj in an interview with PTI.
Additionally, NPCI BHIM Services Ltd (NBSL), a subsidiary of NPCI, is in negotiations with several public sector banks to enable swifter UPI payments through the banks’ applications.
Recently, NBSL has teamed up with Canara Bank to facilitate UPI-based digital payments within the bank’s mobile app.
“We are in discussions with 3-4 additional public sector banks for similar collaborations, with an announcement anticipated in the first quarter of the upcoming fiscal year,” Nataraj mentioned.
In 2025, the monthly transactions of the BHIM payments app surged from 38.97 million in January to 165.1 million by December, marking a fourfold increase. The transaction value reached Rs 20,854 crore in December 2025, reflecting a 120 percent growth year-on-year.
In 2025, Delhi emerged as one of the top markets for the BHIM Payments app. Peer-to-peer transactions constituted 28 percent of total transactions in Delhi during the year, followed by groceries at 18 percent, fast food restaurants at 7 percent, restaurants at 6 percent, telecommunication services at 4 percent, and online marketplaces at 2 percent.
“The growth we are observing in key markets such as Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan demonstrates the increasing trust in the performance, security, and user experience of the BHIM Payments app,” Nataraj commented.
