To What Extent Has the Adoption of UPI Transformed Consumer Payment Preferences Compared to Traditional Cash and Card Transactions in India?

Information from the abstract

The payment systems are important in the development of the economic behavior because they determine the manner in which people will transact, save and also consume. Consumer preferences and market structures are directly influenced by the efficiency, availability and cost of payment mechanisms in the market, especially in developing economies. Over the last few years, India has undergone a paradigm shift in its payment system, which has been mostly caused by the creation and fast growth of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). UPI, which was introduced in 2016, has become a disruptive financial innovation that has greatly changed the hegemony of traditional car and cash-based payment systems. This paper will analyze how UPI has altered the taste of consumers with regard to the mode of payment in India and compare its adoption and use with cash transactions and debit/ credit card payments. Although the cash was the prevailing mode of transacting business historically in the Indian economy because of its simplicity and wide acceptance the UPI has minimized the transaction frictions and, as a norm, has made digital payments even with low-value and frequency transactions. Compared to card-based payments, the Interoperable nature, low infrastructure needs, zero base charge rate of UPI have made it perform better than cards in the daily consumer payment transactions, especially in small retail and informal businesses. In addition to the substitution effects, the paper points out the behavioral and structural changes that have been occasioned by UPI. These have been modification in frequency of spending, fewer psychological obstacles to payment, greater financial inclusion, and the development of an embedded digital finance ecosystem. The research paper is founded on secondary data analysis which is based on reports by Reserve Bank of India, National Payments Corporation of India, government publications, industry reports and existing literature in scholarly knowledge. The results indicate that UPI has not only served as a different form of payment but has fundamentally reorganized consumer payment behavior and market relationships in India. The paper concludes that UPI leads to the long-term payment preferences shift, transforming the place of cash, cards, and forming the new outlines of the trajectory of the Indian digital economy.

Why this record is monitored

This record has an Impact Signal of 79/100 based on recency, source, collaboration, and bibliographic signals. It prioritizes monitoring and is not a judgment of research quality.

Related topics: Digital Platforms and Economics · Innovations and Analysis in Business and Education · Technology Adoption and User Behaviour