RBI Digital Payments Index

Source: PIB
GS III: Indian Economy

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. Key facts
3. Digital Payment in India

Why in the News?

The Government has been closely working with different stakeholders including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), fintechs, banks and State Governments to increase the adoption rates of digital payments in the country including in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

News in Brief

• RBI has setup a Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) in 2021 to encourage deployment of digital payments acceptance infrastructure in tier-3 to 6 cities, North-Eastern States and Jammu & Kashmir.
• As on May 31, 2025, around 4.77 Crore digital touch points have been deployed through PIDF.
• Transactions during the last six financial years, i.e. FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25 have seen a phenomenal increase. Over 65,000 crore digital transactions have taken place in the last 6 years amounting to more than Rs. 12,000 lakh crore.

Key facts RBI Digital Payments Index

• The increase in the RBI-DPI index was driven by significant growth in parameters, viz. Payment Infrastructure, Supply-side factors and Payment Performance across the country over the period.
• The central bank had announced the construction of a composite RBI-DPI in March 2018 as a base to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.
• The index comprises five broad parameters that enable the measurement of the deepening and penetration of digital payments in the country over different periods.
• These parameters are
  • Payment Enablers (weightage 25 per cent)
  • Payment Infrastructure, Demand-side factors (10 per cent) Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side factors (15 per cent)
  • Payment Performance (45 per cent)
  • Consumer Centricity (5 per cent)
• The index is published on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of four months.

Digital Payment in India

• The RBI has developed the Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) to measure the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.
• The index is published semi-annually and is based on March 2018 as the base period (Index = 100).
• As per the latest release, the RBI-DPI stood at 465.33 for September 2024, reflecting continued growth in digital payment adoption, infrastructure, and performance across the country.
• By enabling seamless, traceable transactions through platforms like UPI, digital payments have created a robust financial footprint for individuals and businesses.
• These footprints serve as alternative data points for financial institutions, allowing them to assess creditworthiness even in the absence of traditional documentation.
• As a result, more people are able to access formal credit channels, which not only empowers economic participation but also brings more entities into the formal financial ecosystem.
• Digital platforms like UPI have enabled citizens, including small vendors and rural users, to accept digital payments, reducing cash dependency and increasing formal economic participation.

Daily Current Affairs: Click Here

Rate this Article and Leave Feedback