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RBI Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI), reading by reading — how fast India went digital

Q: What is the RBI Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI)?

The RBI Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) is a composite index published by the Reserve Bank of India that measures the extent of digitisation of payments across the country. It is constructed from five broad parameters — Payment Enablers, Payment Infrastructure on the demand side, Payment Infrastructure on the supply side, Payment Performance, and Consumer Centricity — each with assigned weights. The base period is March 2018, set equal to 100, and the index is published semi-annually with a roughly four-month lag.

Q: What is the latest RBI-DPI value?

The RBI-DPI rose from a base of 100 in March 2018 to roughly 465 by the September 2024 reading — more than a fourfold increase in about six years — reflecting the rapid spread of UPI, cards and prepaid instruments and the broadening of payment infrastructure. These figures are approximate and rounded; later readings are provisional and subject to revision. Exact decimals are held pending reviewer sign-off and are not in the public Verified-numbers ledger.

Q: How often is the RBI-DPI published?

The index is published twice a year, for the March and September positions, and is released with a lag of about four months. Because March 2018 is the base set to 100, every later reading shows how many times larger payment digitisation has become relative to that base.

Q: Why does the digital payments index matter?

The RBI-DPI is the cleanest single read on how deeply digital payments have penetrated India. A rising index signals wider acceptance infrastructure, more users and higher transaction performance — which supports financial inclusion, reduces cash handling costs and gives the RBI and banks a benchmark to track the success of payment-system policy. It complements transaction-level data such as UPI volumes, card usage and the Financial Inclusion Index.

Quick answerThe Reserve Bank’s Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) measures how digitised India’s payments are, with March 2018 = 100 as the base. It has climbed to about 465 by September 2024 — more than a fourfold rise in roughly six years — driven by UPI, cards & PPIs and broadening acceptance infrastructure. Published semi-annually (March & September, ~4-month lag) from five weighted parameters. Figures are approximate and rounded; the latest reading is provisional. It complements the Financial Inclusion Index.

Index readings (base March 2018 = 100)

Period	RBI-DPI (approx.)	Note
Mar 2018	100	Base period — index set to 100
Mar 2019	153	First annual reading — rapid early digitisation
Mar 2020	208	Pre-pandemic; UPI scaling fast
Mar 2021	271	COVID-19 push to contactless/online payments
Mar 2022	349	UPI + cards + PPIs broaden reach
Mar 2023	396	Growth continues, base effect slows the pace
Mar 2024	446	Deepening usage and infrastructure
Sep 2024	465	Latest firmly-reported reading
Mar 2025	~470	Provisional / indicative — pending reviewer confirmation

What the index measures

The RBI-DPI is a composite index — not a transaction count but a weighted blend of five broad parameters: Payment Enablers, Payment Infrastructure (demand side), Payment Infrastructure (supply side), Payment Performance and Consumer Centricity. Each parameter has assigned sub-indicators and weights, so the index captures not just how much people pay digitally but the reach, reliability and safety of the rails underneath. Because March 2018 is set to 100, a reading near 465 means payment digitisation is roughly 4.6× its 2018 level.

What it means for bankers

For banks and payment firms the RBI-DPI is the headline scoreboard of the digital-payments shift that has reshaped deposit behaviour, fee income and branch economics. A steadily rising index validates investment in acceptance infrastructure and signals where UPI and card/PPI volumes are heading; it also tracks alongside the RBI’s Financial Inclusion Index as evidence that payment-system policy is widening access. The pace of increase has naturally slowed as the base grew, but the direction — deeper, wider, more reliable digital payments — is unbroken.

Key terms in this dataPlain-English definitions of the terms behind this dashboard — see the full Indian banking glossary. UPI · PPI

More live dataExplore BankPulse’s other live RBI dashboards: UPI / Digital Payments · Cards & PPI Usage · NEFT / RTGS / IMPS · Financial Inclusion Index.

RBI Digital Payments Index FAQ

What is the RBI Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI)?

The RBI-DPI is a composite index published by the Reserve Bank of India that measures the extent of digitisation of payments across the country. It is built from five broad parameters — Payment Enablers, Payment Infrastructure (demand side), Payment Infrastructure (supply side), Payment Performance and Consumer Centricity — each with assigned weights. The base period is March 2018 = 100, and it is published semi-annually with a roughly four-month lag.

What is the latest RBI-DPI value?

The index rose from a base of 100 in March 2018 to roughly 465 by the September 2024 reading — more than a fourfold rise in about six years — on the back of UPI, cards and prepaid instruments and broadening infrastructure. Figures here are approximate and rounded; the latest reading is provisional and subject to revision. Exact decimals are held pending reviewer sign-off and are not in the public Verified-numbers ledger.

How often is the RBI-DPI published?

Twice a year — for the March and September positions — released with a lag of about four months. With March 2018 as the base of 100, each later reading shows how many times larger payment digitisation has become relative to that base.

Why does the digital payments index matter?

It is the cleanest single read on how deeply digital payments have penetrated India. A rising index means wider acceptance infrastructure, more users and stronger transaction performance — supporting financial inclusion, cutting cash-handling costs and giving the RBI and banks a benchmark for payment-system policy. It complements UPI volumes, card usage and the Financial Inclusion Index.

Methodology & sources: see how BankPulse dashboards are sourced, verified & updated · machine-readable RBI-DPI JSON feed.

Last reviewed 20 Jun 2026 by Vikram Jain

Source: RBI Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) press releases and the RBI Database on Indian Economy (DBIE), rbi.org.in. Index values are official, rounded and approximate; the base is March 2018 = 100 and later readings are provisional and subject to revision. We never reproduce source text verbatim. Reviewed by Vikram Jain. Last updated 20 Jun 2026, 02:01 IST.

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