E-wallets on a roll, see 81% Q1 growth in volume of transactions: Report

In the months after demonetisation, average transaction value, however, fell 12% quarter on quarter

The mobile wallet sector in January-March 2017 grew 81 per cent in volume terms over the same quarter a year earlier , shows  a report by consulting firm RedSeer Management.

The robust expansion, according to the report, was aided by the government's November 2016 move to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

In a move that had taken the country by surprise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced that the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were ceasing to be legal tender within hours of the announcement. He had also urged the citizens of the country to move increasingly to digital modes of payments to bring in more transparency and hand help curb the flow of black money, counterfeiting of currency notes, and terror financing.

In the subsequent months, there was a massive surge in digital transactions, amid an acute shortage of physical currency in the country's automated teller machines. 

According to the Redseer report, the average value of digital transactions, however, declined about 12 per cent from that in the previous three-month period. The report attributed this decline to the user behaviour of identifying small-value everyday bills rather than only high-value remittances through e-wallets.

Daily transactions via e-wallets also increased significantly, said the report, adding that the market share of digital transactions registered significant growth in the utility sector. The surge was attributed to customers' preference for increased comfort while making payments through e-wallets.