Digital Payments Shows Steep Rise of 55% after Demonetization: Niti Aayog

According to Niti Aayog, the number of digital payments have increased by approximately 55 percent in 2016-17. this growth is observed to be fueled by demonetization.

This steep rise in a single year is in sharp contrast to the 28 percent increase over a five-year period ending 2015-16, NITI Aayog's Principal Advisor Ratan P. Watal said during a seminar on 'Digital Payments - Trends, Issues and Challenges' organised by FICCI.

"Demonetisation helped to push the graph of digital mode of transactions upwards. The substance of this initiative of the government is that technology will ultimately drive consumer behaviour in switching from cash to card," said Watal.

"And now the new GST code will add to this momentum too," he added.

Watal said NITI Aayog's analysis based on a comprehensive analysis of "digital payments growth drivers" showed that in terms of value, the increase was over 24 percent.

"These figures are truly reflective of the fact that India today stands at the cusp of a digital payments revolution," he said while unveiling the booklet on digital payments prepared by the government's premier policy think-tank.

"Due to innovations in digital payment technologies and increasing consumer satisfaction, the growth trends in digital payments are positive and will continue to dominate the payments landscape in India," he said.

Watal said NITI Aayog's analysis dispelled all doubts and proved that the growth trajectory of digital payments in the country "continues unabated".