GST reforms, festive season drive UPI payments, stimulate private consumption

New Delhi, Oct 31 The spending through unified payments interface (UPI) during the festival period (Dussehra to Diwali) increased to Rs 17.8 lakh crore, up from Rs 15.1 lakh crore from the previous year, a report said on Friday.

In September, UPI witnessed a seasonally unadjusted month-on-month (MoM) increase of 2.6 per cent in value terms, the report from Bank of Baroda said.

The UPI saw 31 per cent transaction count growth (year-on-year) at 19.63 billion in the month of September — with 21 per cent growth in transaction amount at Rs 24.90 lakh crore, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data showed. Month-wise too, UPI witnessed a growth in transaction amount, from Rs 24.85 lakh crore in August.

Payments data for the Dussehra-to-Diwali period showed that the total value of UPI, debit, and credit card payments reached approximately Rs 18.8 lakh crore -- from 16.4 lakh crore in the previous year

The GST 2.0 stimulus, aligned with the festival period, is expected to boost household spending and has coincided with a significant increase in digital retail payments, indicating a revival in consumption, the report said.

The government estimates that the GST cut could increase consumer spending by approximately Rs 20 lakh crore, the bank mentioned.

The payment in value terms through debit card during this festival month went to Rs 65,395 crore, up from Rs 27,566 crore the previous year. In contrast, credit card values reflected more cautious usage during the same period, the bank said.

During the festive period average spending per transaction for UPI was Rs 1,052 whereas for debit card it was Rs 8,084 and for credit card at Rs 1,932, Bank of Baroda said.

Small to mid-valued segment of consumption demand is likely to get a fillip looking at the spending statistics, the bank projected.

Merchant-level UPI data for September indicated over 50 per cent growth in average spend per transaction for men’s and women’s clothing, package shops, beer, wine and liquor, online marketplaces, electronics, beauty and barber shops.

"We expect private consumption demand to report a buoyant print in Q2. The trend will also persist in Q3," the bank forecasted.

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