9.36 bn transactions worth Rs 10.25 lakh cr processed in Q1 2022 via digital payments: Report

India reported 9.36 billion transactions amounting to Rs 10.25 lakh crore processed through payment modes like credit and debit cards, prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) like mobile wallets and prepaid cards and UPI P2M (person-to-merchant), payments industry leader Worldline said in a report on digital payments in Q1 2022.  

It further added UPI P2M transactions emerged as the most preferred mode of payment among consumers with a market share of 64 per cent in terms of volume and 50 per cent in terms of value. Credit cards accounted for 7 per cent of transactions but 26 per cent of value whereas debit cards account for 10 per cent of transactions but 18 per cent in value.  

UPI reported 14.55 billion transactions in terms of volume and Rs 26.19 lakh crore in terms of value in India, as per this report. Its transactions volume and value has almost doubled since 2021 recording about 99 per cent increase in volume and 90 per cent increase in value.  

State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB), Union Bank and Paytm Payments Bank were the top remitter banks in the same time period. Top beneficiary banks were Paytm Payments Bank, SBI, YES Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm accounted for 94.8 per cent of UPI transactions volume and 93 per cent of UPI transactions volume as of March 2022.   

Average ticket size of UPI P2P transactions was Rs 2,455 and Rs 860 for UPI P2M transactions. Average ticket sizes for m-wallet, prepaid cards, debit and credit cards stood at Rs 400, Rs 503, Rs 1,922 and Rs 4,329 respectively. Out of total UPI transaction volumes in Q1 2022, 56 per cent transactions were P2P whereas 44 per cent were P2M. in terms of value, P2M transactions contributed to ~19 per cent of UPI transactions whereas P2P transactions contributed 81 per cent.  

In Q1 2022, credit card transactions stood at 2.02 billion in terms of volume and Rs 8.77 lakh crore in terms of value whereas debit card transactions stood at 942.7 million in terms of volume and Rs 1.81 lakh crore respectively. Top credit card issuers during the period were HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and RBL Bank. Top debit card issuing banks during the period included SBI, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, Canara Bank and PNB.  

Given the increased adoption of digital payments, total number of point-of-sale (POS) terminals deployed by merchant acquiring banks stood at 6.07 million, of which over half a million terminals were deployed in Q1 2022. POS deployment grew by around 28 per cent in Q1 2022 compared to a year before.  

Total number of Bharat QRs was 4.97 million as of March this year, a rise of 39 per cent compared to March 2021. UPI QRs stood at 172.73 million as of March 2022, a whopping 87 per cent rise from March 2021. Private sector banks represented ~70 per cent of the POS terminals whereas public sector banks accounted for 22 per cent. Payments banks accounted for 7 per cent and foreign banks continue to stand at 1 per cent.  

Top acquiring banks in terms of POS deployment include HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, RBL Bank, Paytm Payments Bank, IndusInd Bank and Union Bank of India. Axis Bank and ICICI Bank logged an on-year growth of 68 per cent and 52 per cent in Q1 2022 in terms of POS market share. Paytm Payments Bank is a close contender as it registered a growth of 66 per cent amongst the top banks deploying POS terminals.  

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