March 3, 2022
Due to the increased cash in circulation in the economy, almost all modes of digital payments have witnessed a rise
UPI processed 457.2 crore transactions worth INR 8.26 lakh crore and IMPS processed 42.09 crore payments worth INR 3.84 lakh crore in February
It is unlikely that user behaviour will revert to using physical modes of banking or usage of cash for certain payments post the pandemic
Offline digital payments are also being worked upon and this will only contribute to the rise in digital payments
Digital payments continued to witness robust growth in February with transactions on UPI remaining well above the INR 8 lakh crore mark for the third straight month. As per the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), UPI processed 457.2 crore transactions worth INR 8.26 lakh crore in February – an increase from 461.7 crore transactions worth INR 8.31-lakh crore in January 2022.
Due to the increased cash in circulation in the economy, almost all modes of digital payments including UPI, immediate payments service (IMPS), real-time gross settlement (RTGS), and national electronic fund transfer (NEFT) have also witnessed a rise. IMPS processed 42.09 crore payments worth INR 3.84 lakh crore in February 2022 compared to 44.01 crore transactions valued at INR 3.87 lakh crore in January, which is a 32.1% growth in volume and almost 40% growth in value compared to February 2021. FASTag payments also saw sharp growth with 24.36 crore transactions worth INR 3,631.22 crore being processed in February compared to 23.1 crore transactions of INR 3,603.71 crore in January.
It is expected that digital payments will continue its boom period in the forthcoming year. In addition, offline digital payments are also being worked upon and this will only contribute to the rise in digital payments, especially in semi-urban and rural areas where Internet connectivity and smartphone usage is still minimal.