RBI Launches Digital Payment Index (DPI)

The RBI constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI).

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the digitization of payments across the country.
This is a significant development as there was a sharp pick in the digital transactions.
The RBI-DPI consists of five broad parameters.
This helps in the measurement of digital payments in the country over different time periods.
The parameters are
- payment infrastructure- Demand side factors-weighs 10%,
- payment infrastructure- supply side factors-weighs 15%,
- payment enablers- weighs 25%,
- Payment Performance- weighs 45% and
- Consumer Centricity- weighs 5%.
Each parameter consists of sub-parameters and various measurable indicators.
The RBI-DPI is constructed with March 2018 as its base period.
In 2018 March, the DPI score is set at 100, for 2019 it was 154.47 and in 2020 it is 207.84.
RBI-DPI will be announced on the RBI’s website.
It will be published on a semi-annual basis from March 2021 with a period of four months.
The DPI will bring more transparency and efficiency in financial growth.

According to the RBI, in November 2020, both wholesale and retail transactions picked up.
In November 2020, in the retail segment, National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) volumes grew 24.6%.
RBI stated that the growth value of NEFT transactions in November was 27.9% which was higher than that recorded in October, 20.1%.
The UPI transactions to the tune of Rs 3.9 lakh crore happened.
The IMPS transactions worth Rs 2.76 lakh crore happened.
The RGTS and NEFT transactions worth Rs 79.8 lakh crore and Rs. 22.18 lakh crore respectively were reported.
In November 2020, the UPI transactions increased to 2.2 billion transactions by maintaining momentum in volume and value terms.
Other digital transaction modes such as national electronic toll collection (NETC) showed growth and IMPS (Immediate Payment Services) showed stronger growth.
The Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions in the wholesale segment recorded an acceleration in the volume terms.
The RBI made RTGS available round the clock on all days from 12.30 AM December 14.