Indian Digital Transactions Surge to a Record Thanks to Diwali
Digital transactions in India surged to a record in October, around Diwali.
(Bloomberg) -- Digital transactions in India surged to a record in October, propelled by a growing number of mobile payments services and online promotions around the Diwali peak shopping season.
The volume of online transactions touched 964.9 million just a year after the government abolished almost nine-tenths of currency notes in a dramatic “demonetization” move, according to the latest data from India’s central bank.
The trend reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for wider acceptance of digital payments, an effort that’s won support from global technology companies like Google as well as homegrown startups such as Mobikwik, which now has over 65 million app users, doubling a pre-demonetization base of 30 million.
“Forget about the elegant statistics; the truth is your grocer, baker, veggie vendor, chemist is more willing to accept digital money,” Mayuresh Joshi, a fund manager with Angel Broking, said in a note this week.
To contact the reporters on this story: Saritha Rai in Bangalore at srai33@bloomberg.net, Anto Antony in Mumbai at aantony1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Robert Fenner at rfenner@bloomberg.net, Edwin Chan
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