THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON DIGITAL PAYMENT HABITS OF INDIAN HOUSEHOLDS

Abstract

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 experience switched back to such modes.