Digital Payments Rise 10.7% YoY; RBI Index Shows Deepening Adoption

Digital payments across India rose by 10.7 per cent year-on-year as of March 2025, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India – Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI).

The index, which tracks the growth and adoption of online transactions, stood at 493.22, up from 445.5 in March 2024 and 465.33 in September 2024, the RBI said in a statement.

The central bank has published the composite index semi-annually since January 2021, with March 2018 as the base year. It measures the extent of digitisation in the country’s payment ecosystem.

The RBI attributed the increase in the index to strong growth in supply-side payment infrastructure and overall payment performance. These two factors, it noted, played a significant role in expanding digital payment usage.

The RBI-DPI comprises five key parameters that assess the penetration and deepening of digital payments:

• Payment Enablers (25%)
• Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side (10%)
• Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side (15%)
• Payment Performance (45%)
• Consumer Centricity (5%)

With consistent improvement across these areas, the index reflects India’s continuing shift towards a cashless economy.

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