India’s Rush Towards a Cashless Economy

By Ashutosh Kumar, Global Head Banking the Ecosystem, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered 

 
While most payments in India are still made with cash or cheques, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increasingly been focusing on shifting payments to electronic channels. The initiatives are having an impact, as data from the RBI shows that the volume of cheques as a percentage of total payments dropped from 34% in 2013 to 13% in May 2016. Cash payments have dropped as well. 

 
The shift towards a digital and ‘less-cash’ society has been facilitated by the efforts of the RBI to strengthen the electronic payments infrastructure, including the roll-out of new products such as the Immediate Payment Services (IMPS) and the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). 

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