Average value of mobile transaction beats credit, debit card

Transactions via mobile phones in 2014-15 stood at Rs 5,847 compared to Rs 3,089 via credit cards and Rs 1,485 on debit cards

With the increase in smartphone users in the country, banks have been witnessing a sharp uptick in mobile banking transactions. It is not just the number of transactions, but even the value that has been growing at a sharp pace.  Now, the average value of transactions on mobile phones has beaten the average value of transactions in credit and debit cards, suggest data from the Reserve Bank of India annual report.

The average value of transactions via mobile phones in 2014-15 stood at Rs 5,847 compared with Rs 3,089 via credit cards and Rs 1,485 on debit cards.

However, credit cards still continue to lead the charts with the highest value of transactions being recorded via it at Rs 1.9 lakh crore followed by Rs 1.2 lakh crore on debit cards in 2014-15. In the same period, the total value of transactions on mobile phones was registered at Rs 1 lakh crore.

Analysts say it debunks the belief that typically low-value transactions are carried out via mobile phones. Private banks and some select public sector banks such as State Bank of India have been increasingly turning their focus to mobile banking.

Bankers say it is not only the urban customers, but even the consumers in tier-II and rural areas are shifting to the digital medium.

In the last on year, banks have not only seen a surge in mobile banking transactions but also in mobile wallets. The mobile wallet includes non-bank players too such as Oxigen, Paytm etc.

“The total number of transactions on digital wallets (promoted by non-banks) already surpassed the total number of mobile banking transactions in 2013-14. These transactions are growing at the stupendous rate of 180 per cent per annum, against 80 per cent in mobile banking transactions,” said a report by the Boston Consulting Group.