Kochi: The digital transactions in the country would see a significant rise in the coming years, cutting down on the number of bank branches and ATMs.
The Reserve Bank of India had earlier this week published the ‘Payment and Settlement System in India: Vision 2019-21’ outlining a roadmap of initiatives that would pave way for a more digital society with fewer cashless transactions.
As per the RBI document, cheque-based payments would be two per cent lower than retail electronic transactions by 2021.
The RBI aims to achieve a hundred per cent annual growth in payment systems such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Immediate Payment System (IPS) by 2021.
The annual growth rate of National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) may rise by 40 per cent, while a 35 per cent growth is expected in the point of sale (POS) wherein debit cards are used for retail transactions. Not just in the number of transactions, the values would also see a significant rise.
The number of POS terminals should touch 50 lakh by 2021.
A 50 per cent rise in transactions using mobile phones are expected. More than 35 crore people are already smartphone users.
The vision document also includes the steps to be taken by the RBI such as ensuring 24-hour availability of systems like the NEFT and increasing the amount of money that can be transferred.