India Logs 65,000 Crore Digital Transactions in 6 Years
New Delhi: India’s digital payments ecosystem has witnessed an unprecedented surge over the past six financial years, clocking over 65,000 crore digital transactions valued at more than ₹12,000 lakh crore, according to the Ministry of Finance. This expansion has significantly enhanced financial inclusion, particularly for underserved and unserved segments across the country, by transforming access to financial services through robust digital infrastructure and targeted policy initiatives.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, confirmed the data and emphasized that the Government of India has been working in close coordination with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), fintech companies, banks, and State Governments to deepen digital payment penetration even in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. A key enabler of this transformation has been the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), launched by the RBI in 2021 to drive the deployment of digital payment acceptance infrastructure in tier-3 to tier-6 cities, North-Eastern States, and the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. As of May 31, 2025, around 4.77 crore digital touch points have been successfully deployed through PIDF.
In support of this momentum, the RBI has instituted the Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI), designed to measure the degree of digitisation of payments nationwide. With March 2018 set as the base period (Index = 100), the latest RBI-DPI figure stood at 465.33 for September 2024, indicating a steady and broad-based growth in the adoption and usage of digital payments.
To further support small businesses and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in embracing digital payment systems, various proactive steps have been taken by the Government, RBI, and NPCI. These include incentive schemes aimed at promoting low-value BHIM-UPI transactions among small merchants, implementation of Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) guidelines to enable MSMEs to access invoice discounting at competitive rates, and the rationalisation of the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for debit card transactions. Collectively, these initiatives are aimed at expanding customer reach and improving operational efficiency for small businesses.
The rise of digital payment platforms like UPI has been transformative for economic participation, especially in rural and semi-urban India. Citizens, including small vendors and remote users, are now increasingly able to accept digital payments, thereby reducing cash dependency and integrating into the formal economy. The digital financial footprint generated through seamless and traceable transactions also provides alternative data that financial institutions can use to evaluate creditworthiness, particularly for individuals who lack conventional documentation. This, in turn, expands access to formal credit channels and strengthens financial inclusion.
The Government’s sustained focus on digitisation has not only accelerated the shift from cash to digital transactions but also empowered citizens and enterprises alike to participate more effectively in India’s evolving financial ecosystem.
– global bihari bureau
