Digital Payments Index

Why in News?

Recently, the Digital Payments Index revealed that Digital payments in India saw a 10.7% growth during Sept, 2024 to March, 2025.

• Aim – It is designed to track the extent of digitalisation in payments across the country.
• Introduced in – 2021.
• Base year – March, 2018 as the base period.
• DPI score - Set at 100 in 2018.
• Released by - Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Oversight – Biannually (twice a year).
• Parameters 
  • Payment Enablers (25%),
  • Payment infrastructure Demand-side (10%) & supply-side (15%),
  • Payment performance (45%),
  • Consumer centricity (5%).
• Key findings
  • The current level in March 2025 marks a more than fourfold increase in digital payment activity since 2018.
  • The latest increase is primarily driven by improvements in Payment Infrastructure Supply-side factors and Payment Performance includes
    • An expanded merchant acceptance network,
    • Wider adoption of QR code-based payments,
    • Robust growth in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, and
    • Improved availability of digital banking services nationwide.
  • It highlights a broader transformation in the country’s payments ecosystem, supported by government initiatives such as Digital India, growing smartphone penetration, and active fintech innovation.
• Significance – It plays a crucial role in policy formulation and benchmarking progress.

Reference

DD NEWS| RBI – Digital Payment Index