Lockdown hit: Credit card transaction worth falls by 1 lakh crore

The worth of bank card transactions declined by Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 7,30,895 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 6,30,414 crore within the earlier yr within the wake of the countrywide lockdown because of the Covid pandemic.
According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Annual Report, throughout 2020-21, the variety of card fee transactions carried out by means of bank cards and debit playing cards decreased by 19 per cent and 20.6 per cent, respectively.
This resulted in a lower in worth of bank card transactions by 13.7 per cent and debit card transactions by 5.9 per cent throughout the identical interval, the RBI stated.
The whole worth of credit score and debit card transactions fell from Rs 14,34,814 crore to Rs 12,93,822 crore throughout 2020-21, the RBI stated.
The RBI report stated Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) recorded contraction in quantity by 7.4 per cent in the course of the yr as in opposition to a progress of 15.7 per cent a yr in the past, whereas the transaction worth at 1.97 lakh crore was decrease by 8.3 per cent vis-à-vis final yr.
The variety of Points of Sale (PoS) terminals elevated by 6.5 per cent to 47.20 lakh and the variety of Bharat Quick Response (BQR) codes deployed elevated by 76.0 per cent to 35.70 lakh as at end-March 2021.
Further, the variety of ATMs marginally elevated by 2.0 per cent from 2.34 lakh at end-March 2020 to 2.38 lakh at end-March 2021, the RBI stated.
Overall, the entire digital transaction quantity in 2020-21 stood at 4,371 crore as in opposition to 3,412 crore in 2019-20, testifying to the resilience of the digital fee system within the face of the pandemic, the RBI stated.
The share of digital transactions within the whole quantity of non-cash retail funds elevated to 98.5 per cent throughout 2020- 21, up from 97.0 per cent within the earlier yr, it stated.
“Besides augmenting the broad-based use of technology, the pandemic has fuelled the proliferation of digital modes of payment, propelling the country towards ‘less-cash’ alternatives,” the RBI stated. Digital transactions recovered from their lows within the months of the lockdown and gained traction over the remainder of the yr with a rising desire for contactless transactions and tailor-made monetary choices by fintech gamers to adapt to the wants of end-users, it stated.
According to the RBI, transactions by means of National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system rose by 12.7 per cent in the course of the yr. At the top of March 2021, the NEFT facility was accessible by means of 1,75,283 branches of 225 banks.

Further, the banknotes in circulation have been rising together with the rise in digital funds. The quantity of banknotes in circulation has doubled within the final decade, from 5,654.9 crore items in 2009-10 to 11,597.7 crore items in 2019-20 and reached 12,436.7 crore items as on March 31, 2021, the RBI stated.