India Beats China: 40% Of Global Realtime Payments Happened In India, 2.6 Times More Than China!

The volume of people indulging into cashless transactions across the country, right from paan shops to business transactions is on the rise and it has been climbing exponentially.

According to a recent report, India ranks number 1 in recording the highest number of real-time payments in 2021 among businesses across the world. It made a total of 48.6 billion real-time payments in the year, ahead of China.

India Takes the Lead in No. of Real-Time Payments Made

As per a recent report released by the data analytics firm GlobalData, payment solutions provider ACI Worldwide, and CEBR (Centre for Economics and Business Research), India ranks the first in the number of real-time payments made in 2021.

The number stood at 48.6 billion for the year, way ahead of China, with a count of 18.5 billion real-time transactions.

What Has Led to Increasing Count for India?

Thanks to the rising adoption and acceptance of unified payments interface (UPI) in India, the number of real-time payments witnessed in the country turned out to be highest in 2021.

The increased adoption and reliance on UPI and QR code-based merchant based payments in India, in conjunction with a surge in cashless payments across companies and customers, which heightened its pace since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, have boosted the real-time payments in India.

Real-time payment instruments like UPI made up 31.3% of all payments conducted in India in 2021. The mode added $16.4 billion to India’s economic output, contributing 0.56% to the nation’s GDP in 2021.

Analysts predict that by 2026, $45.9 billion or 1.12% of India’s GDP will be contributed by real-time payments.

Thanks to an increased real-time payment, workers are paid quickly, allowing them to better plan their finances. Businesses have more flexibility and reduce the need for burdensome cash flow management, states the advisory head of CEBR, Owen Good.

Sam Murrant from GlobalData says, “Mobile in its multiple forms will shape the trajectory of real-time payments for developing markets. India provides the template for mobile wallet integration with underlying real-time payment systems”.