Now Reading: UPI turns 10 but gender gap in usage persists
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UPI turns 10 but gender gap in usage persists
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is completing 10 years of operation, but data shows a persistent gender disparity in its adoption. According to an analysis by the National Payments Corporation of India…
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is completing 10 years of operation, but data shows a persistent gender disparity in its adoption. According to an analysis by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), women account for a significantly smaller share of UPI transactions compared to men.
The data indicates that while overall UPI volumes have soared, the proportion of transactions initiated by women has remained stagnant. This suggests that the benefits of the digital payments revolution are not reaching women equally, limiting their financial inclusion and participation in the digital economy.
The government and NPCI have launched several initiatives to promote digital payments among women, but the gap remains wide. Addressing this disparity is seen as crucial for achieving broader financial inclusion goals in India.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The UPI gender gap mirrors broader patterns in India's financial inclusion data. The RBI's Financial Inclusion Index for 2023 showed that while overall access has improved, usage gaps persist, especially among rural women. UPI's design assumes smartphone access, which women in low-income households often share with male family members. The government's Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity was meant to bridge this, but the UPI data suggests usage follows ownership. The next step for policymakers will be measuring whether targeted measures like the Nari Shakti Vandan scheme or specific UPI cashback offers for women actually shift the transaction share in the coming quarters.
Source: ndtv.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
