Retail, wholesale digital payments marked healthy jump in 2022: RBI Bulletin

Digital payments logged healthy acceleration in 2022, increasing by 63 per cent and 19 per cent year on year (y-o-y) in volume and value terms, respectively, stated Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s bulletin for January 2023.

Both large-value and retail segments recorded robust growth (y-o-y) in December and transaction values processed under the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) continued to accelerate while volumes rose to 2.15 crore, i.e., the highest in the current financial year so far.

The bulletin showed that payments under the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mode also expanded strongly, owing to resurgence in travel and proliferation of omnichannel commerce.

The total value of card payments (through debit cards, credit cards and prepaid payment instruments) increased by 48 per cent, while cash withdrawals from ATMs (through the National Financial Switch and micro ATMs) declined by 2.3 per cent (y-o-y).

For the week ending January 6, the credit information companies (CIC) grew 7.9 per cent (y-o-y), i.e., recording single-digit growth for 75 weeks since August 2021 and averaging 8.6 percent.

The bulletin also mentioned that fundraising by the Fintech sector tapered to Rs 420 crores (US$ 4.2 billion) during 2022 (upto Q3), halving from the peak of Rs 800 crores (US$ 8 billion) reached in the previous year. This is indicative of shifting investor focus toward basic profitability levels and financially stable business models.

Additionally, the Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 2,600 crore scheme for promoting RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions. Under the scheme, banks will be provided financial incentives for promoting Point of Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions using RuPay and UPI in the current fiscal year.