India leads the world with 90.8 percent mobile wallet payments in 2023

According to the GlobalData 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey, India has emerged as the global leader in mobile wallet payments with 90.8 percent of the population using mobile wallets for transactions in 2023.

In April 2024, India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) showed strong performance, with daily transaction figures of Rs 19.64 lakh crore. Continuing the trend, the first half of May 2024 has already seen significant transaction volumes, reaching Rs 10.70 lakh crore as of May 15.

This achievement underlines India’s rapid progress in digital payment solutions, which is ahead of other countries in mobile wallet adoption.

The report notes that the upward trend in mobile wallet usage is also evident across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a significant role in accelerating the shift from cash to electronic payments, further boosting the adoption of mobile wallets.

Ravi Sharma, lead banking and payments analyst at GlobalData, says the disruptive potential of mobile wallets is affecting even smaller countries like Hong Kong’s consumer payments sector, predicting a gradual shift to cash transactions.

Sharma said, “The use of mobile wallets is set to disrupt the consumer payments sector in Hong Kong and gradually displace cash. Widespread QR code infrastructure, availability of mobile-based instant payment systems, and growing consumer and merchant preference all contributed to the use of mobile wallets.

A high percentage of adults have bank accounts and the widespread use of smartphones provides a solid foundation for mobile wallet adoption.

The presence of both domestic and international mobile wallet brands like Apple Pay, Google Pay, PhonePe etc. provides a variety of options to consumers. The increasing acceptance of mobile payments by merchants further encourages its use.

GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey, conducted in the second quarter of 2023, surveyed nearly 50,000 respondents aged 18+ across 40 countries.