Groceries, petrol stations, restaurants, clothing and apparel, specialty retail, pharmacy and medical, hotels, jewellery retail, household appliances, and departmental stores were the merchant categories with the highest volume and value of transactions in Q1 for Worldline India. They together accounted for 85 per cent in terms of volume and 76 per cent in terms of value in Q1 2021 at the physical merchant touchpoints. In the online space, e-commerce (shopping for goods and services), gaming, utility and financial services contributed to over 85 per cent of transactions in terms of volume and 41 per cent in value in Q1 2021.
Mobile app-based transactions recorded 96 per cent growth in volume in Q1 2021, while its value witnessed over 104 per cent increase against the same quarter of the previous year i.e. Q1 2020. Interestingly, 88 per cent of mobile transactions consisted of inter-bank transactions while 12 per cent accounted for intra-bank transactions. In terms of value, 79% of mobile transactions consisted of interbank transactions while 21 per cent accounted for intra-bank transactions.
Consumers made 8.32 billion mobile-based payments whereas Net Banking / Internet browser-based transactions were over 937.60 million in Q1 2021. In terms of value, INR 31.98 trillion was transacted through mobile while INR 131.34 trillion was transacted through the internet.
Net banking/internet-based transactions witnessed over 16 per cent increase in volume In Q1 2021 and 39 per cent in value against the same quarter of the previous year i.e. Q1 2020. Inter-bank and intra-bank transactions volume of Internet Payments channels were 80 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. In value terms, Inter-bank and intra-bank transactions were around 50 per cent.
Deepak Chandnani, Managing Director, Worldline South Asia and Middle East said, “The RBI in its Annual Report 2020-21 stated that the payment systems recorded a robust growth of 26.2 per cent in terms of volume on top of the expansion of 44.2 per cent in the previous year. This clearly indicates the growing confidence among consumers towards digital payments in tier I and II cities and tier III and beyond. Although the restrictions on the movement of people and persistent lockdowns may have compelled people to adopt digital payment modes, the convenience, transparency, and security of digital payments will ensure customer stickiness in the years to come. At Worldline, we remain committed to contributing to digital penetration in India by enhancing acceptance infrastructure across the country and introducing innovative payment options to improve user experience and deepen the reach of the payment system.”