Open AccessTHE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON DIGITAL PAYMENT HABITS OF INDIAN HOUSEHOLDS
Author(s) -
Rajas Saroy,
Sakshi Awasthy,
Narayani P. Singh,
Sonali M. Adki,
Sarat Dhal
Publication year - 2022
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.505
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 2460-9196
DOI - 10.21098/bemp.v25i0.1823
Subject(s) - payment , covid-19 , welfare , business , inflection point , point (geometry) , internet privacy , demographic economics , economics , computer science , finance , medicine , market economy , geometry , mathematics , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , virology , outbreak
The COVID-19 induced lockdown in India was an inflection point for on-boarding of new users into digital payments. Using a large survey dataset, we examine the driving factors of this shift for those who used digital payments for the first time. Apart from demographic drivers of payment choice traditionally explored in the literature, we find that this shift was significantly shaped by the degree of awareness of digital modes, access to smartphones and debit cards, and pandemic-relief welfare transfers. Users who had abandoned digital payments due to prior bad experiences switched back to such modes.