Reserve Bank to construct digital payment index

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the process of constructing a digital payment index to assess the extent of digitisation and innovation in existing modes and channels to bridge the digital divide, said a senior official with the central bank.

Observing that digital payments in India have been growing rapidly, RBI Executive Director, T Rabi Sankar, said there is still a lot of catching up to do as per-capita penetration is still quite low.

“The RBI is in the process of …constructing and periodically publishing a composite digital payment index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation. The DPI could be the key to accurately measure the deepening and penetration of digital payments across the country,” he said while addressing a webinar organised by the US-India Business Council.

A comprehensive index has also been recommended by a high-level committee headed by Nandan Nilekani on deepening digital payments in the country.

Earlier, in February, the RBI said that the DPI would be based on multiple parameters and reflect the penetration and deepening of various digital payment modes.