Decoding the Digital Payment Revolution in India: A Comparative Analysis of RTGS, NEFT, UPI, IMPS, and Credit/Debit Card Trends

Abstract

Digital payment systems have changed fast in India over the past ten years, and this change itself has further reshaped how people handle money in the country. This study surely examines how major digital payment methods like RTGS, NEFT, UPI, and IMPS have grown from 2013 to 2023. Moreover, it focuses on understanding the specific trends and patterns in their development over this decade. The study analyzes transaction volume and value further, exploring how government policies, technology improvements, and consumer behavior itself contributed to widespread adoption of these systems. The study surely shows that Digital India and PMGDISHA (Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan) programs have greatly increased digital payment use in villages. Moreover, demonetization in 2016 caused a major shift towards digital payment platforms across the country. The data shows that UPI itself has grown very fast, with transaction numbers and values increasing greatly, which further proves it is adopted more than other payment systems. IMPS showed steady growth due to its real-time features, while RTGS and NEFT served high-value transactions with volume changes caused by economic factors like COVID-19. These systems further developed themselves during this period. The research surely shows that main reasons for this growth include more people using mobile phones, better internet connection, and government help for digital payment systems. Moreover, these factors work together to make digital payments grow faster in the country. The study actually shows some problems like safety issues and poor access in villages. Technology definitely needs to keep improving to work better.