Business impact
The adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are trickling down to major sectors of the Indian economy, with manufacturing, auto, retail, aviation and hospitality bearing the brunt of the lockdown. This in turn has affected fast-growing digital payments which are closely linked to the aforementioned sectors. Shut shops, travel bans and reduced discretionary spends by consumers (on dining out, movies and entertainment and so on) are further negatively impacting digital payments.
Digital payment volume declines are seen in airlines, tourism, hospitality, hotels, entertainment, e-commerce (non-essentials) and restaurants, among other sectors.
Further, cross-border payments, be they B2B or C2B, have significantly declined owing to the temporary shutting down of borders further, resulting in restricted movement of goods. International remittances too have been affected and have reduced.
However, there are also a few areas that are seeing an uptick in digital payments by way of increased adoption during the lockdown. These include online grocery stores, online pharmacies, OTT players (telecom and media), EdTechs, online gaming, recharges and utility/bill payments.
Digital payment volumes are also receiving a boost through the Government, which has pledged monetary assistance to the poor via direct transfers to bank accounts.
The finance minister and the CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India have also urged people to increase the use of digital payments in order to make payments contactless.
Digital payments, once a convenience, have become a necessity in these times. With a majority of the sectors that contribute to digital payments still in a state of flux, it is still too early to ascertain the long-term impact of COVID-19 on digital payments.