India’s digital payments index increases fourfold to 493.22 since 2018: RBI

New Delhi: With a major boost towards the digital payments revolution, the Reserve Bank of India has announced that its Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) has been increased to 493.22 in March 2025, up from 465.33 in September 2024.

Introduced in January 2021, with March 2018 as the base period set at 100, the RBI-DPI is designed to track the extent of digitalisation in payments across the country. This upward trajectory consistency reflects India’s robust adoption of digital payment systems, covering both urban and rural areas.

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The strong momentum highlights a broader transformation in the country’s payments ecosystem, supported by government initiatives such as Digital India, growing smartphone penetration, and active fintech innovation

According to the RBI, the latest increase is primarily driven by improvements in Payment Infrastructure, that is, Supply-side factors and Payment Performance.

This included an expanded merchant acceptance network, wider adoption of QR code-based payments, robust growth in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, and improved availability of digital banking services nationwide..

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A steady growth trajectory has been witnessed through RBI-DPI since its inception. In March 2019, it stood at 153.47, rising to 207.84 by March 2020. By March 2022, the index had reached 349.30, registering a threefold increase from the base year.

Meanwhile, it continued to rise, reaching to 445.50 in March 2024 and 465.33 by September 2024. The current level of 493.22 in March 2025 marks a more than fourfold increase in digital payment activity since 2018.

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