Retail digital payments rose to 20% of GDP in FY20, grew 70% YoY: Report

The growth in digital payments in India is being led by UPI and card payments, with lenders like HDFC Bank leading from the front.

Moneycontrol News

June 19, 2020 / 16:31 IST

Use finance options to your advantage | Learn how to use credit and debt. Picking up a property mortgage that you can definitely pay off and then earn more out of whether from rental or sale is one such bet. They key is to know your limits and plan accordingly. For credit cards, pay the balance and earn cash backs or points – whatever bank’s terms are. These can then be used for other purchases. (Image Source: Reuters)

26 Aug, 2025 12:21

Volume

Todays L/H

Even as digital payments took a dip during the period of virtual standstill amid the COVID-19-led lockdown, retail digital payments for the fiscal year 2019-20 saw 70 percent year-on-year growth touching $520 billion. The share of such payments amounts to nearly 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), as against 5 percent of GDP three years ago, as per a report by Morgan Stanley.

The report noted that this exponential growth in digital payment trends is led by unified payments interface (UPI) coupled with continued strong traction in card payments. The share of UPI in overall retail digital payments stands at around 55 percent, with the report pointing out that a further spike in its usage is expected once a WhatsApp universal version is launched.

Source: Morgan Stanley Report

"The rising share of digital payments is also reflected in lower ATM withdrawals/Cheque Usage. ATM withdrawals grew 4% in F20 (~ 13% CAGR over past three years) and amounts to 17% of GDP," the report said.

Also Read | As India unlocks, startups push for contactless ticketing in city buses

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show