Transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform rose 118% year-on-year at retail stores in semi-urban and rural areas in 2023, indicating a wider adoption beyond tier-II regions.
Transaction value rose 106% YoY, a report from PayNearby on assisted digital transactions showed. The findings compare business data from January-to-November 2023 with the year-ago period.
The report has been prepared on the basis of transactions conducted across PayNearby retail touch-points — kirana stores, mobile recharge stores, medical shops, customer service points and travel agents.
The new registered retailer count in rural and semi-urban stores rose 9% in 2023. This indicates the eagerness of the retail community to participate in the India growth story by facilitating assisted financial and digital transactions at nearby stores.
Overall, transactions grew by 10%, both in terms of volume and value, the report said. These transactions includes not only banking and financial services, but also digital services like utility payment, cash collection, credit, insurance and assisted commerce.
Cash collection at retail counters rose 65%, indicating a rising demand for credit and financial solutions nationwide. The average monthly collection of various lenders touched Rs 1,700 crore. Among credit products, business, personal and gold loans gained a rapid traction.
“Positive growth in subscriptions for OTTs, online education, and online gaming underlines a latent demand for digital services, indicating Bharat’s growing affinity towards digital products,” the report said.