Identifying the Major Demographic Factors Determining Unified Payments Interface Usage: A Study Based on West Bengal

Abstract

Around 44 billion digital transactions were recorded across India during the financial year 2021. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit India, a significant growth in the number of digital payments has also occurred. The value of transaction is estimated to rise up to 385 trillion Indian rupees by the financial year 2026 (Statista, 2022). Given this importance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) usage, we surveyed 205 respondents from rural and urban West Bengal to explore the determinants of UPI usage and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on UPI use, if any. We used logistic regression and independent sample t-test and found that males and younger individuals use UPI more than females and aged persons, while we do not see any difference in usage across income brackets and between rural and urban areas. The implication is that to make India digital, those who use UPI less, such as females and the aged, should be encouraged to participate more in UPI usage.