Contrary to the government’s aims of increasing digital payments through notebandi, the number of cashless payments–through online, mobile banking, debit cards and immediate payment service (IMPS)–reduced by 15% in November 2016, when compared to October 2016, after rising since January 2016, when compared to the previous year.
In a year that will be remembered in history for notebandi–a colloquial term for the withdrawal of 86% of the value of India’s currency in circulation on November 8–the amount transacted digitally reduced by 8% in November 2016 over the previous month. Reduction in both the number of transactions and the value of money transferred, shows a reduction in general consumption immediately after notebandi.
Still, cashless payments in October 2016 increased 22%, when compared to October 2015.