'Aspirational India' drives up retail digital payments, says report

Retail digital payments in India will surpass $7 trillion by 2030, helped by “deeply aspirational” consumers, says a new report. The digital surge is driven by customer adoption, government financial inclusion initiatives, and “ecosystem acceleration”. The Unified Payments Interface remains the primary entry method, while credit instruments like credit cards and ‘buy now, pay later’ are increasingly favoured for high-value transactions. The report by Kearney and Amazon Pay notes a narrowing gender gap, with 89 per cent of women preferring digital modes for online purchases. It took insights from 6,000 consumers in 120 cities.

 

Digital power 

43 per cent growth* in retail digital payments (FY21 to FY25)

$7 trn+ retail digital payments expected by 2030

3rd India’s rank worldwide in digitisation of economy

84 per cent of population projected to have smartphones by 2026

 

Online is the way 

90 per cent of respondents preferred digital modes for online purchases

56 per cent used digital modes for making offline purchases

87 per cent of respondents preferred digital modes for paying utility bills

13 per cent respondents used digital wallets for utility & subscriptions

90 per cent of credit card users said they use the instrument for purchases above ₹1,000

 

Gender empowerment 

89 per cent of women and 88 per cent of men prefer digital payment modes for online purchases

63 per cent of women in metro areas prefer digital payment modes for offline transactions, 47 per cent do so in small towns

27 per cent of women never switch their preferred payment method, compared to 21 per cent of men

80 per cent of women entrepreneurs prefer digital payments for their businesses

 

Ease of paying

 

57 per cent of respondents preferred digital payments due to acceptance

61 per cent of them are loyal to digital payments because of convenience

 

*Compound Annual Growth Rate; Source: Kearney Amazon Pay ‘How Urban India Pays 2025’ report