How Urban India Pays, Is UPI Top Choice? Amazon Pay Reveals Mind-Blowing Payment Trends

Unveiling India’s accelerated transition towards a cashless economy, Kearney India and Amazon Pay India recently released the How Urban India Pays report. It found that 90% of respondents favour digital payments for online purchases, while nearly half (50%) extend this preference to brick-and-mortar stores.

Recognising this paradigm shift, Indian merchants have swiftly adapted, with a substantial 69% of their transactions now conducted through digital channels, the report said.

This comprehensive study, based on a survey spanning 120 cities and over 6,000 consumers and 1,000 merchants, revealed a seismic shift in payment preferences.

The survey’s expansive reach across diverse regions, income groups, city tiers, age segments, and genders, offers a comprehensive lens into India’s digital payment landscape.

The report mapped the adoption patterns of consumers and merchants, uncovering key growth drivers and areas for enhancement.

“India’s digital payment revolution is firing on all cylinders, propelled by consumers and merchants alike,” said Vikas Bansal, CEO, Amazon Pay India.

Millennials and Gen X Lead the Charge

The digital payment revolution is being spearheaded by India’s millennials (aged 25-43 years) and Gen X (aged 44–59 years). However, the movement transcends age barriers, as even Boomers (60 years and above) are rapidly embracing cards and digital wallets.

Remarkably, the adoption exhibits near-perfect gender parity, with both men and women leveraging digital payments in over 70% of transactions. Fueling this seismic shift is the unparalleled convenience of digital payments, cited as the primary motivator by over 60% of respondents for online and offline purchases alike. Speed, efficiency, and lucrative rewards further amplify the appeal, catalysing widespread adoption.

UPI Supremacy Continues

While UPI reigns supreme with 53% of consumers preferring it for online purchases, digital wallets and cards (credit, debit, and prepaid) are preferred by 30% of consumers.

In offline purchases, cash is still predominant with 25% of consumers preferring UPI and 20% of them preferring digital wallets and cards. This multi-pronged digital payment ecosystem is poised for exponential growth, as the report charts a roadmap for stakeholders.

Armed with these insights, they can architect a future-proof, inclusive, and ultra-secure digital payments infrastructure that propels India’s cashless revolution to new heights.

Shashwat Sharma, Partner, Financial Services Lead, Kearney India, said, “From the widespread adoption of digital payments in both online and offline transactions to the rise of emerging payment methods like BNPL, this report provides a detailed look at how India is transforming its payment landscape.”

“We are hoping that this report serves as a valuable resource for stakeholders to navigate and contribute to the dynamic and inclusive digital payment ecosystem in India,” Sharma added.

Summary;

• 90% of respondents prefer digital payments for online purchases while 50% prefer them for offline purchases
• UPI, digital wallets, and cards gain widespread traction as cash transactions dwindle, with digital modes making up 69% of merchant transactions; even street vendors cited receiving ~46% of their payments digitally
• Men and women are embracing digital payments equally: Both use digital payments in about 72% of their transactions, indicating gender parity
• Millennials and Gen X Lead the Charge: The research suggests higher overall adoption of digital payment methods by Millennials and Gen X; Boomers have higher card and wallet usage than the younger cohorts
• Consumers in small towns highlighted that 65% of their payment transactions are digital, while consumers in larger cities cited this ratio to be ~75%.
• Emerging modes like BNPL gain visibility as convenience, and rewards propel India’s digital payment transformation, with 87% awareness of the credit-based offering among respondents
• From online purchases to street vendors selling fruits, flowers and everyday items, digital payments make inroads across sectors, driven by convenience cited as the primary motivator by over 60% of respondents.