THE MOBILITY OF DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN: AN ANALYSIS

Abstract

Digital financial inclusion in India has still not permeated a vast segment of society despite it being convenient and providing last mile connectivity to the financial system of an economy.   The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) provided the required push towards digital financial inclusion.  Therefore, the paper attempts to analyse the digital payment transactions using monthly growth percentages for the period before the lockdown and during the lockdown to evaluate digital financial inclusion in India.  The paper also identifies the roadblocks in India’s journey towards digital financial inclusion.  The paper is based on secondary data obtained from RBI database, National Payment Corporation of India database and various reports.  The paper concludes that the lockdown resulted in instant negative growth rates in digital payment transactions which is contrary to the paper hypothesis.  This reflected the negative impact of lockdown on the use of digital financial services.  The paper emphasizes on the need to provide sufficient digital financial infrastructure, digital and financial awareness programmes, financial services specifically designed according to people’s needs and stable employment with sufficient social security to deal with the issues associated with digital financial exclusion.