RBI Introduces Digital Payment Index

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.

The RBI-DPI comprises of five broad parameters that enable measurement of deepening and penetration of digital payments in the country over different time periods.

These parameters are 'payment enablers', 'payment infrastructure -- demand side factors', 'payment infrastructure -- suppy side factors', 'payment performance' and 'consumer centricity', said an RBI statement.

Each of these parameters have sub-parameters which, in turn, consist of various measurable indicators.

The index has been constructed with March 2018 as the base period, with a DPI score for of 100. The DPI for March 2019 and March 2020 work out to 153.47 and 207.84, respectively, indicating appreciable growth, said the statement.

Going forward, the RBI-DPI shall be published on RBI's website on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 onwards with a lag of four months.