Offline store logs faster growth in September

Offline merchant payments, (for example, kirana store transactions) grew faster than online merchant payments (food delivery or e-commerce), registering a growth of 65% in July-September period over the past quarter, as per a report. Opening up of actual stores after the second wave of Covid drove the growth.

In the September quarter, UPI and merchant payments crossed the Rs 200-crore exchange achievement, timing ₹ 221 crore and ₹231 crore transactions, separately, said PhonePe head of technique and investor relations Karthik Raghupathy. Almost 4 out of 5 trader payments were offline transactions in this period, he said.

“The fast development (QoQ) is an (QoQ) is a pointer that digital payments are entering across all markets. Next quarter will be exciting with the festivities and the holiday season,” Raghupathy said.

Banking innovation supplier Sarvatra Technologies, which has collaborated with more than 50 urban cooperative banks live on its UPI platform, said it saw a huge change in the confidence of storekeepers in accepting offline digital payments, compared with July-September quarter in the previous year.