Non-cash transactions to touch 2.3 trn in volumes globally by 2027: Report

Non-cash transactions will touch 2.3 trillion in transaction volumes by 2027, growing at the rate of 15 per cent annually, as consumers and businesses adopt new digital payment schemes, a report by Capgemini Research Institute revealed.

The rate of growth in digital payments will differ from region to region globally. For instance, the report adds that digital payments will grow by 19.8 per cent across the Asia Pacific, 10.7 per cent in Europe, and 6.5 per cent in North America by 2027.

The report suggests that transaction volumes will touch 1.3 trillion by the end of 2023; nearly half of its 2027 forecast with respect to non-cash transaction volume.

 

By 2027, new-age payment methods such as instant payments, e-money, digital wallets, account-to-account payments and payments based on QR (quick-response) codes will control close to 30 per cent of total non-cash transaction volumes.

Additionally, traditional non-cash payments, which include cheques, direct debits, cards and credit transfers, will corner around 70 per cent of overall non-cash transaction volumes.

Today, retail payments comprise 59 per cent of total transaction volume while commercial payments comprise 41 per cent globally, according to the 2023 World Payments Report Executive Survey.

In value terms, commercial payments account for 56 per cent, while retail make up around 44 per cent of total payments value.

The Capgemini report said that the split between commercial and retail payments value share was close to 50 per cent each in the Asia-Pacific region.

Additionally, the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is increasingly gaining traction around the world with countries exploring the idea to incorporate it.

In 2020, only 35 countries were considering a CBDC, whereas as of June 2023, close to 130 countries representing 98 per cent of global GDP were exploring CBDCs, the report said.

Moreover, India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has played a key role in promoting digital transactions in the country.

"Powered by a real-time network and open banking, UPI in India reported exponential growth of 1.9 times in volume and nearly 1.8 times in transaction value from 2021 to 2022," the report added.

Last month, NPCI registered a transaction volume of 10 billion transactions. In terms of value, UPI transactions are poised to reach a new high, having already touched approximately 15.18 trillion. This is within striking distance of the previous high of approximately 15.34 trillion, which was recorded in July.

At the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, the non-executive chairman of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Biswamohan Mahapatra, confirmed the organisation's ambition to reach 100 billion transactions per month on the back of new UPI features.