Why Consumers Prefer Mobile Apps for Small Ticket Size Transactions

Groceries, petrol stations, restaurants, clothing and apparel, specialty retail, pharmacy and medical, hotels, jewelry retail, household appliances, and departmental stores were the merchant categories with the highest volume and value of transactions in Q1 for Worldline India. They together accounted for 85 percent in terms of volume and 76 percent in terms of value in Q1 2021 at the physical merchant touchpoints. 

In the online space, e-commerce (shopping for goods and services), gaming, utility, and financial services contributed to over 85 percent of transactions in terms of volume and 41 percent in value in Q1 2021.
 
Mobile app-based transactions recorded 96 percent growth in volume in Q1 2021, while its value witnessed over 104 percent increase against the same quarter of the previous year i.e. Q1 2020. Interestingly, 88 percent of mobile transactions comprised of inter-bank transactions while 12 percent accounted for intra-bank transactions. In terms of value, 79 percent of mobile transactions comprised of interbank transactions while 21 percent accounted for intra-bank transactions.
 
Consumers made 8.32 billion mobile-based payments whereas net banking / internet browser-based transactions were over 937.60 million in Q1 2021. In terms of value, Rs 31.98 trillion was transacted through mobile while Rs 131.34 trillion was transacted through the internet.
 
Net banking/ internet-based transactions witnessed over 16 percent increase in volume in Q1 2021 and 39 percent in value against the same quarter of the previous year i.e. Q1 2020. Inter-bank and intra-bank transactions volume of internet payments channels were 80 percent and 20 percent respectively. In value terms, inter-bank and intra-bank transactions were around 50 percent.
 
It is evident from the data that consumers prefer mobile apps frequently for small ticket size transactions and net banking/ browser-based channels for high ticket size transactions.
 
The top 10 states with the highest transactions at physical touchpoints in Q1 for Worldline India are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, and West Bengal.
 
The top 10 cities with the highest number of transactions at physical touchpoints in Q1 for Worldline India are Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, and Ahmedabad.
 
Deepak Chandnani, Managing Director, Worldline South Asia & Middle East said, “The RBI in its Annual Report 2020-21 stated that the payment systems recorded a robust growth of 26.2 percent in terms of volume on top of the expansion of 44.2 percent in the previous year. This clearly indicates the growing confidence among consumers towards digital payments in tier I and II cities and tier III and beyond. Although the restrictions on the movement of people and persistent lockdowns may have compelled people to adopt digital payment modes, the convenience, transparency, and security of digital payments will ensure customer stickiness in the years to come. At Worldline, we remain committed to contributing to digital penetration in India by enhancing acceptance infrastructure across the country and introducing innovative payment options to improve user experience and deepen the reach of the payment system.”