Purchase of digital gold contracts via UPI contracts 47% in November

The value of digital gold investments fell sharply in November after Sebi's caution, though transaction volumes rose slightly, signaling small-ticket buying continues

The value of digital gold purchases through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) slowed down for the first time this year in November after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued an advisory, cautioning investors about the product.

 

In November, the value of digital gold on UPI contracted 47 per cent to ₹1,215.36 crore from ₹2,290.36 crore in October, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

 

However, the volume of digital gold purchases grew 6.44 per cent to 123.42 million transactions in November from 115.95 million in the previous month.

 

Purchases of digital gold through UPI have been growing month-on-month (M-o-M) in 2025 on account of payment features such as UPI Autopay, and the ability to invest small-ticket amounts each day.

 

In January, a total of 50.93 million digital gold purchases with a cumulative value of ₹761.6 crore were recorded.

 

In a statement on November 8, Sebi said digital gold products were outside the purview of the markets regulator. This meant regulators could not inspect fintech platforms’ physical vaults to verify the presence and purity of the gold, as these entities operated outside regulatory oversight.

 

Sebi had added that digital or e-gold was being marketed as an alternative for investment in physical gold.

 

There has been a rise in specialised fintechs such as Jar and Gullak, which have enabled users to invest recurring small-ticket amounts into digital gold. Others such as Paytm, PhonePe, and others have allowed their users to invest in digital gold.