The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates retail payment services such as UPI, IMPS, RuPay, BHIM, NACH, FASTag and BBPS, recorded a 22% year-on-year rise in revenue in FY26. However, its profit fell 32% during the year due to higher deferred tax and a rise in marketing expenses, including cashbacks and sponsorships. NPCI’s revenue from operations rose 22% to Rs 4,240 crore in the fiscal year ended March 2026 from Rs 3,481 crore in FY25, according to its consolidated annual financial statements accessed by Entrackr from its website. Established in 2008 as an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), NPCI serves as the umbrella organisation for retail payment and settlement systems in India. It operates key payment platforms and services such as UPI, IMPS, RuPay, BHIM, NACH, AePS, FASTag and BBPS. As NPCI operates as a not-for-profit organisation, it reports its profit as surplus. Payment services remained NPCI’s primary revenue driver in FY26, contributing 88% of its operating revenue. Income from this segment rose 16% to Rs 3,736 crore from Rs 3,212 crore in FY25. The remaining operating income came from certification, network and implementation charges, membership fees, hologram charges and card-related fees. NPCI also earned Rs 633 crore from non-operating sources in FY26, which took its total income to Rs 4,873 crore. Other income included liabilities written back, interest on income tax refunds, service guarantee mechanism (SGM) receipts, and miscellaneous income. When it comes to expenses, Marketing and product incentives remained NPCI's largest cost centre in FY26, accounting for over 47% of its overall expenditure. These expenses rose 27% to Rs 1,420 crore from Rs 1,116 crore in FY25, led by higher spending on product incentives and cashbacks. Marketing costs also included payments to banks for RuPay cards, advertising and publicity campaigns, B2B activities, and sponsorships. Employee benefit expenses rose over 22% to Rs 534 crore in FY26, while depreciation and amortisation costs increased 40% to Rs 408 crore. Operating expenses also grew 39% to Rs 291 crore from Rs 210 crore in FY25, driven by higher annual maintenance charges for network and IT equipment, network expenses, and data centre costs. Other expenses, including travel, professional fees, training and seminars, also added to NPCI’s cost base during the year. Overall, the corporation’s expenditure grew 32% to Rs 2,985 crore in FY26 from Rs 2,270 crore in FY25. As expenses outpaced revenue growth, the firm's bottom line came under pressure in FY26. Higher spending on marketing, product incentives and cashbacks, coupled with a deferred tax expense of Rs 331 crore, led its surplus to decline 32% to Rs 991 crore from Rs 1,461 crore in FY25. It's EBITDA rose 11% to Rs 1,674 crore in FY26, with an EBITDA margin of 39.5%. Its ROCE stood at 12.9%. On a unit level, the corporation spent Rs 0.70 to earn a rupee of opera
