Image Credit: Pixabay
The coronavirus-led lockdowns disrupted our lifestyle in more ways than we can imagine. The impact can be seen right from our working schedules to shopping and other important daily routines. One of the biggest behavioural changes that the new normal has brought about is how we handle cash.
A research conducted by Razorpay reveals that Digital Payments have seen 23% growth during the period of June 3 -to July 2. Even though the overall number of digital transactions saw a dip of 12% during the past 100 days, the positive growth recorded during the last month is significant since it marks a rebound after a period of dip mainly attributed to the nationwide lockdown.
With lockdown relaxed in most parts of the country, people have started transacting more freely and the immediate effect can be seen in industries like logistics, healthcare, and real estate.
Contribution towards the PMCares fund and other cashback driven offers were cited as the reason behind a spike in the mobile wallet transactions, especially in the tier 2 cities. When it comes to payment mode, payments via UPI trumped all other payment options. While contactless UPI payments grew at 43%, card payments saw a 40% upward trend and payments through net banking lagged at a mere 10%.
Experts see this rebound as a positive sign hinting towards the revival of the economy. Due to the impact of Covid-19, digital payments as a primary mode of payment has seen acceptance even in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where even demonetisation failed in forcing people to change their shopping habits.
While it is widely believed that the impact of coronavirus may remain for a long time, educating users in smaller towns coupled with governments constant push towards digital economy will reap results in the near future. Constant innovations in terms of facial recognition technology and wearables etc are expected to remain the key factor as it will help in the adoption of digital payments at a far wider scale than ever imagined.
