As the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates took effect on September 22, digital payments surged to around ₹11 trillion, nearly 10 times the previous day, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
According to the RBI’s ‘Settlement Data of Payment Systems’, payments on September 21 stood at ₹1.1 trillion.
Digital payments here include the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), national electronic fund transfer (NEFT), real-time gross settlement (RTGS), and immediate payment service (IMPS), debit cards, and credit cards.
Among all the payments, RTGS commanded the largest share of around ₹8.2 trillion, a surge of over 4,000 per cent. It was followed by NEFT and UPI transactions of around ₹1.6 trillion and ₹82,477 crore, respectively.
The e-commerce platforms also enjoyed a 23 to 25 per cent surge in sales in the first two days of the GST implementation, according to Redseer. ”On Day 0+Day1 (22, 23 September), online retail GMV grew 23 per cent to 25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). This is 4x to 5x growth compared to the first two days growth of festive sales 2024,” the report said.
Among these e-commerce transactions, credit card payments witnessed nearly a sixfold surge to ₹10,411 crore, while debit card payments soared around four times to ₹814 crore.
Steps to spur spending
The spike in transactions can be attributed to the revised GST rates under which most goods have been placed under the reduced slabs of 5 and 18 per cent.
Earlier this year, the Centre also eased the income tax burden under the new regime, exempting households with an annual income of up to ₹12 lakh from paying any tax.
In an open letter to the public this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the combined impact of the income tax cuts and the next-generation GST reforms could save citizens nearly ₹2.5 trillion. He urged people to participate in a ‘GST Savings Festival’ during the festive season by purchasing and selling locally made products, noting that this would support family incomes and create job opportunities for young people.
