International Journal of Social Science & Economic Research
Submit Paper

Title:
From Cash to Clicks: The Transformative Impact of UPI on Consumer Behaviour and Financial Inclusion in India

Authors:
Daksh Sawhney

Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER)
ISSN: 2455-8834
Volume: 10
Issue: 7
Publication Date: July 2025
DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i07.021

|| ||

Daksh Sawhney
Inventure Academy Bangalore India

MLA 8
Sawhney, Daksh. "From Cash to Clicks: The Transformative Impact of UPI on Consumer Behaviour and Financial Inclusion in India." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 10, no. 7, July 2025, pp. 2865-2884, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i07.021. Accessed July 2025.
APA 6
Sawhney, D. (2025, July). From Cash to Clicks: The Transformative Impact of UPI on Consumer Behaviour and Financial Inclusion in India. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 10(7), 2865-2884. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i07.021
Chicago
Sawhney, Daksh. "From Cash to Clicks: The Transformative Impact of UPI on Consumer Behaviour and Financial Inclusion in India." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 10, no. 7 (July 2025), 2865-2884. Accessed July, 2025. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2025.v10i07.021.

References

[1] . Shree, S., et al. (2021). Digital payments and consumer experience in India: A survey-based empirical study. *Journal of Banking and Financial Technology, 5*, 1–20.
[2] . Chircu, A. (2015). Value creation in payment systems: The case of mobile payments. Electronic Markets, 25(4), 317–328.
[3] . Hanedar, A. M., et al. (2023). Digital transformation of the Indian economy: Opportunities and challenges. *Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies, 30*(3), 120–138.
[4] . Duvendack, M., et al. (2023). Digital technology and financial inclusion: Evidence from India. *Campbell Systematic Reviews, 19*(1), e1304.
[5] . Kaur, S., & Sandhu, H. (2021). Post-pandemic growth in digital payment behavior in India. *International Journal of Financial Studies, 9*(4), 210–225.
[6] . Parsheera, A. K. (2024). Enabling digital transformation in India: The role of public policy. *Technology in Society, 76*, 102454.
[7] . Raj, D. (2024, December 20). India’s Unified Payments Interface has revolutionized its digital payments market. *BusinessCornell*.https://business.cornell.edu
[8] . Dev, H., et al. (2024). From cash to cashless: The rise and impact of UPI in India. *arXiv*. https://arxiv.org
[9] . Lahrèche, A., Hamdi, H., & Landolsi, M. (2020). The impact of ICT on financial inclusion and economic growth: Evidence from developing countries. *International Journal of Emerging Markets, 15*(6), 1081–1097.
[10] . Shukla, R., Malick, B., Shree, M., & Gnanasekaran, V. (2018). Mapping the Merchant’s Mind: An Analysis of Digital Payment Behaviors by Fixed Store Merchants in Jaipur. SSRN Electronic Journal.
[11] . Kurniawan, T., Lestari, D. A., & Sadewa, D. A. (2019). The influence of ease of use, security, and promotion on the intention to use electronic money.*Jurnal Manajemen Dan Kewirausahaan, 21*(1), 1–14.
[12] . Bhavsar, V., & Samanta, P. K. (2022). Sustainability of digital payments: Empirical evidence from India. In *Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sustainability and Equity (ICSE-2021) * (pp. 134–150). Atlantis Press.
[13] . Roy, S., & Sinha, I. (2011). E-payment systems in India: Problems and prospects. *Proficient Journal*.
[14] . Singh, N. K., et al. (2019). Critical success factors of the digital payment infrastructure for developing economies. In *IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 533*, 113–125.
[15] . Ghosh, A., & Ghosh, D. (2022). Demographic determinants of UPI adoption in India. *Journal of Digital Finance, 7*(2), 45–61.
[16] . Agarwal, A., & Sengupta, R. (2021). Cybersecurity and consumer trust in digital payment systems: A case study of UPI in India. *Journal of Financial Technology and Security, 12*(4), 211–230.
[17] . D’Silva, D., Kundu, S., & Ramachandran, M. (2019). Diffusion of digital payments: Evidence from rural India. In *The Future of Digital Work* (pp. 137–152). Springer.
[18] . Ding, X., & Zhao, Y. (2021). Seeing is believing: The impact of mobile cash payments on the growth of e-commerce firms. *Electronic Commerce Research, 21*(1), 1–24.
[19] . Lau, H.-M., et al. (2020). Digital payments and economic growth: An empirical study. *Journal of Economic Studies, 47*(2), 312–329.
[20] . Ravikumar, S., et al. (2019). Impact of digital payments on GDP growth in India. *Journal of Economic Development, 44*(1), 1–21.
[21] . Sreenu, G. (2020). Digital payments and economic growth: A panel data cointegration analysis of India. *International Journal of Economics and Financial Research, 6*(9), 38–44.
[22] . Tungare, V. (2018). A study on customer insight towards UPI (Unified Payment Interface)—An advancement of mobile payment system. *International Journal of Science and Research, 7*(4), 2051–2056.
[23] . Rakesh, H. M., & Ramya, T. J. (2014). Factors influencing consumer adoption of internet banking in India. *International Journal of Business and Management, 9*(3), 124–133.

ABSTRACT:
This paper investigates the transformative impact of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on consumer behaviour, financial inclusion, and economic growth in India. Since introduction of UPI in 2016, it has revolutionized digital payments by offering a real-time, secure, and convenient platform for financial transactions. Through a comprehensive literature review and primary survey data from 140 respondents, this study investigates user perceptions of UPI's convenience, efficiency, and security compared to traditional cash transactions. Findings indicate high user satisfaction with UPI's speed and ease of use, leading to a significant shift towards digital payments, although it also suggests a potential for increased impulsive spending. The paper further explores UPI's macroeconomic contributions, including enhanced financial inclusion, improved transparency in government welfare programs, and boosted small business operations. The data analysis, presented with figures, highlights the demographic profile of UPI users and their transaction preferences, revealing a strong preference for UPI over cash across various transaction types. The conclusion directly addresses the research question, emphasizing UPI's pivotal role in India's journey towards a cashless society and its broad economic benefits. This study acknowledges limitations regarding its geographical and demographic scope and provides a questionnaire in the appendix.

IJSSER is Member of