rbi-index-shows-rapid-rise-in-digital-payments

Digital payments across India recorded a double-digit jump of 11.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) as of September 2024, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) index that measures the adoption of online transactions, a Central Bank statement said.  

 

The RBI's Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) for September 2024 stands at 465.33, up from 445.5 in March 2024.  

The increase in the RBI-DPI index was driven by growth in payment infrastructure and payment performance across the country over the period, the RBI said.  

 

The RBI has been publishing a composite RBI-DPI since 1 January 2021, with March 2018 as the base, to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country. The index is published on a semi-annual basis.  

 

The index comprises five parameters that enable the measurement of the deepening and penetration of digital payments in the country over different periods.  

 

These parameters are Payment Enablers (weightage 25 per cent), Payment Infrastructure—Demand-side factors (10 per cent), Payment Infrastructure—Supply-side factors (15 per cent), Payment Performance (45 per cent), and Consumer Centricity (5 per cent).  

 

The RBI highlighted in a report earlier this week that UPI has been the most significant contributor to the growth of digital payments in India due to its usefulness and ease of use.  

 

According to the report, the share of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the country’s digital payments has surged from 34 per cent in 2019 to an impressive 83 per cent in 2024, with a remarkable CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 74 per cent over the last five years.  

 

In contrast, the share of other payment systems like RTGS, NEFT, IMPS, credit cards, and debit cards in digital payment volume declined from 66 per cent to 17 per cent during the same period, the report states.  

 

At a macro level, the volume of UPI transactions increased from 375 crore in 2018 to 17,221 crore in 2024, while the total value of transactions surged from ₹5.86 lakh crore in 2018 to ₹246.83 lakh crore in 2024.  

 

This amounts to a five-year CAGR of 89.3 per cent and 86.5 per cent in terms of volume and value, respectively, the report stated.