The Policy
Commission of India that is the National Institution for Transforming India
(NITI Aayog) released a press
statement that said that the digital payment market in India is
expected to grow to US $1 trillion by 2023.
The development and expansion in the mobile
payments market have presented several big business opportunities for players
in the digital space. Mobile payments are expected to rise from $10 billion in
2017-2018 to $190 billion by 2023.
According to the
press release, these estimates are based on a study of Credit Suisse and outlined
in the booklet, ‘Digital Payment: Trends, Issues and Opportunities’, by Mr Ratan
P. Watal, the Principal Advisor, NITI Commission and Member Secretary of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
(EACPM).
The booklet
highlighted the key features of the digital payments market. It discusses the
growth momentum of digital payments in volume and value that has been sustained
post demonetisation and the increase seen in new products like the Unified
Payments Interface (UPI). The UPI is, according to the Cashless
India website, a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a
single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking
features.
The booklet also
mentions the steps that are being taken to bring in a new regulatory regime as
per the Watal Committee Report. The booklet also mentions the new initiatives
the Reserve Bank of India
has taken to usher in the new era of digital payment methods and the array of
new opportunities ahead for fintech players.
At a conference
organised by the Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and NITI Commission,
Mr Watal examined the growth trends in digital payment; the digital payments
market witnessed a steady increase in 2017-2018 both in terms of quantity and
quality.
In terms of quantity, the development during the
year was much higher than the trend growth rate during 2011-2016. The rate of
growth in total retail payments in value terms has seen a three-fold increase
than the trend rate of the last five years.
The release said
the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)
segments had a high growth rate during 2017- 2018. The UPI, despite being a new
product in the payment segment, has been readily adopted by consumers and
suppliers.
The analysis of
growth trends is based on data from the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY) and the Reserve Bank of India. While the MeitY data provides
only data regarding volume in the public domain, the RBI provides data on both-
volume and value in the public domain.
At the conference,
Mr Watal announced the initiative launched by the NITI Commission in
collaboration with the Ministry
of Human Resource Development under the Global Initiative of Academic Networks
(GIAN) Scheme. The NITI Aayog had initiated a short-term course on digital payment
methods. It was held at Mangalore University from 23 to 27 July 2018.
Mr Watal said that
the proposed changes in the regulatory framework, the entry of global giants
and the advancement of technology will drive the future growth of digital payments
in the country.
