UPI Transactions Grow 118% In Rural And Semi-Urban Regions In India In 2023: Survey

The report, titled ‘Retail-O-Nomics’, stated that this indicated a boost in the adoption of online payments in Tier-II cities, and the transactions climbed 106 per cent in terms of value.

Rural and semi-urban India saw the United Payments Interface (UPI) transactions increase in 2023 against last year, a report by fintech firm PayNearby said on Wednesday.

The report, titled ‘Retail-O-Nomics’, stated that UPI transactions at retail stores in rural and semi-urban regions in the country increased by 118 per cent in 2023, as compared to a year earlier. This indicated a boost in the adoption of online payments in Tier-II cities, reported Business Standard. In terms of value, the transactions soared 106 per cent during the period. 

The report further noted that the acceptance for Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) grew 5 per cent in the reporting period. The report was compiled after surveying over a million shops between January and November. 

It read, “The [UPI] transactions include not only banking and financial services, but also digital services like utility payment, cash collection, credit, insurance, assisted commerce and more, indicating a significant behavioural shift among consumers in these regions towards assisted digital methods for their banking and lifestyle needs, contributing to their integration into the formal economy.”

Notably, the government informed Parliament on Monday that UPI will be the driving force in the overall growth of digital payments in the country. It told Lok Sabha that UPI transactions in the country increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 147 per cent from 92 crore in 2017-18 to 8,375 crore in 2022-23, with regards to volume. As a result, banknotes circulation declined 7.8 per cent in 2022-23, and UPI logged 85.72 billion transactions in the current financial year till December 11, 2023, the government said. 

In a written reply, the Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat K Karad, stated, “UPI has been the major driving force in the overall growth of digital payment transactions in the country accounting for 62 per cent of digital payment transactions in 2022-23. The Year-on-Year growth in the value of banknotes in circulation has decreased from 9.9 per cent in 2021-22 to 7.8 per cent in 2022-23.”