The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a programme to convert 75 villages into digital payment-enabled villages.

“We have also decided to initiate a 75 Digital Villages programme through adoption of 75 villages and involvement of village level entrepreneurs,” stated the RBI governor.

During Digital Payments Awareness Week (DPAW) 2023, he spoke at the inauguration of the ‘Har Payment Digital’ mission.

According to the Governor, “India’s payment systems have improved over time, with several platforms now available around the clock to facilitate rapid payments. From December 2022, the country’s payment networks have seen over 1000 crore transactions each month.”

When it comes to the UPI, which was introduced 7 years back, Das claims that “the amount of UPI transactions has climbed from 0.45 crore in January 2017 to 804 crores in January 2023. “

Since its inception in 2016, the UPI has emerged as the most popular and preferred payment option, pioneering person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions that account for 75% of total digital payments.

From 0.45 crore in January 2017 to 804 crores in January 2023, the volume of UPI transactions has surged dramatically. At the same time span, the value of UPI transactions jumped from Rs 1,700 crore to Rs 12.98 lakh crore.

He stated that the RBI has created over 48 crore card tokens, which have processed over 86 crore transactions, making it the world’s largest tokenisation project. Tokenized transactions have expanded from 35% to 62% of the ecosystem initially.