Digital payments have been hitting new benchmarks often as it becomes more easier on the acceptance side as well as for consumers to pay.
Razorpay, leading payments aggregator has come out with a report that digital payments have surged by 76% in the last 12 months and small business are optimistic about 2021 as profits were up in the last few months.
A steep decline in 2020 in the travel industry was seen by 50% while real estate grew by 69% in the first three months of 2021.
The report’s findings are between the period of 2020 and 2021 where tier 2 and tier 3 cities continued to contribute over 50% of online transaction. Payments segment like buy now pay later (BNPL) saw a whopping growth of 569% owing to consumers avoiding bulk payments and preferring affordable payment modes.
UPI remains to the most preferred payment option followed by debit cards, credit cards and net banking.
eNACH which is used to automate recurring payments saw a growth of 23.96% in JFM’21 compared to JFM’20 displaying a growing trend of businesses preferring digital and automated recurring payment processes.
Travel industry witnessed a comeback with 52% growth in JFM’21 as compared to JFM’20 indicating some stability in the travel and hospitality economy and bringing respite to millions of people working in the sector.
Further, customers have been ordering online more in the F&B industry and witnessed a growth of 69% from January to March’21.
In the education sector, the acceptance of digital payments for fees and salary payments saw a growth of 40%.
In the financial services, mutual funds were the preferred choice for investment for salaried professionals as the industry saw a 69% growth in JFM’21 vs OND’20.
Vedanarayan Vedantham, Head of SME business, Razorpay, said, “The last 12 months have been like being inside a time capsule. India’s digital payments ecosystem in this timeframe has seen the kind of growth that might have happened over a 3-5 year horizon if not for the pandemic. A lot of first-time digital users and previously traditional, brick & mortar businesses have come forward to embrace digital payments.”
Vedantham said, “Over 50% of this digital adoption is coming from Tier 2 & 3 cities today, which indicates that this is not just an urban phenomenon. Small Businesses are providing newer payment methods and reaching out to a wider customer base that transcends geographical boundaries. All this is enabled by the convenience of digital payments, and we at Razorpay are humbled to support Small Businesses in their growth journey as Indian businesses and consumers together begin to build a Digitally Inclusive Nation.”
