The volume of transactions on retail payment channels operated by the National Payments Corporation of India have either surpassed or are inching back to pre-Covid-19 levels in June, data released by NPCI on Wednesday showed.
Channels such as the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Fastag, Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) had reported a drastic drop in transactions in the last week of March and throughout April, as a nationwide lockdown severely curbed spending by consumers.
There was marked recovery in volumes in May as lockdown restrictions were eased in several states, and the trend has continued in June, with volumes on several of these channels rebounding to pre-Covid-19 levels in February.
UPI reported a record 1.34 billion transactions worth Rs 2.61 lakh crore in June, surpassing its record tally in February when 1.32 billion transactions worth Rs 2.22 lakh crore were processed, data released by NPCI on its social media handle showed.
Meanwhile, transactions recorded on National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC), which powers Fastag payments at highways, also reported sharp recovery in June, the NPCI data showed.
A total of 82 million transactions worth Rs 1,511 crore were processed in June, up almost eight times from April when just 10 million transactions worth Rs 247 crore were processed.
The recovery in electronic toll volumes is significant as it indicates a return in road traffic and intercity commute. In comparison, February saw a record 110 million Fastag transactions worth Rs 1,843 crore.
Similarly, BBPS saw increased transactions as customers paid more bills online.
BBPS posted a record 17.64 million transactions worth Rs 3,000 crore on its platform in June. This is nearly 20% more than the 14.92 million transactions worth Rs 1,957 crore processed on the platform in February.
Other channels operated by NPCI, such as IMPS and Aadhar Enabled Payment System, also recorded a surge in transactions in June.
A total of 100 million transactions worth Rs 20,000 crore were processed on AePS, led largely by withdrawal of relief pay-outs by Jan Dhan account holders.
Separately, IMPS — used for instant bank-to-bank fund transfer between accounts — also saw volumes surge to 199 million transactions worth Rs 1.06 lakh crore in June, up 20% from May, data showed. IMPS count in February was 247 million, worth Rs 2.14 lakh crore.
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