Digital payments up, card use down in India

Investment banking firm Jefferies on Monday said there is growth in digital payments by bank customers post demonetisation whereas there has been a decline in usage of debit cards.

In a report, Jefferies also said the RuPay adoption for e-commerce has increased while the growth of credit cards has been secular.

The National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) volumes have grown upwards of 30 per cent with a further around 10 per cent improvement in per-transaction size, resulting in around 40 per cent growth by value, it said.

Similarly, the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is showing stellar growth on a smaller base.

"While growth has come off a low base, it still continues to grow at 100 per cent-plus. Instant payment, with ease of choosing the receiver and its 24x7 availability, makes for a very useful and attractive payment system," Jefferies said.

According to the report, the usage of debit cards has been weak and the total debit card transactions have seen a modest decline - both in terms of value and volume.

"Card swipes are growing at sub-10 per cent with no change in ticket size resulting in sub-10 per cent growth in transaction value after a sudden spike during demonetisation."

"It would, therefore, seem logical that a remonetised banking system has started seeing more cash-based transactions and the debit card is losing out," Jefferies said.

On the other hand, the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has seen a reasonable pick-up with the government promoter Bhim mobile app (payment app) continuing to show a healthy growth in volumes. -

Source: Khaleej Times