Karnataka Emerges As The 2nd Highest State In Number Of Transactions In Q3’21

* Digital payments have shown rapid penetration across the state

* Offline payments in the state are at an all time high

PhonePe, India’s leading fintech platform, today announced key digital payment trends from Karnataka as a part of the PhonePe Pulse Q3 (July - September) 2021 data. In what is a true validation of the reach and penetration of digital payments in the state, it has emerged as the 2nd highest in the number of overall transactions, with Maharashtra taking the top spot.

Here are some interesting trends and insights from the state:

* Bengaluru Urban was the top district in number of transactions accounting for ~63% of total digital transactions in the state at 48 Cr. transactions. This was followed by Mysuru with 2.5 Cr transactions and Bengaluru Rural with 1.82 Cr. transactions.

* Merchant payments has been Karnataka’s favourite use case, overtaking money transfer volumes back in Q3’2019 - more than a year ahead of the time it took for the same to occur pan-India. In Q3’21, merchant payments volumes beat money transfers volumes by ~5% on average across India. In Karnataka though, Q3’21 merchant payment volumes came in at 36% more than money transfers volumes. 

* Dharwad district saw the highest rebound in transaction volumes QoQ as the 2nd lockdown eased towards the end of June’21 and early July’21 . The district saw a 50% increase in the number of QOQ transactions, while Bengaluru Urban came in second with a 46% increase in transactions.

* Finally, mutual fund transactions in Karnataka increased by 33% in Q3’2021 relative to the volumes we saw in Q2’2021, indicating that digital payment platforms such as PhonePe are demystifying the investment process and making the product more accessible to all.

Speaking about the trends, Karthik Raghupathy, Head of Strategy and Investor Relations at PhonePe said, “It is fascinating to see the increasing penetration of digital payments in Karnataka. We are seeing phenomenal growth across all key metrics such as transactions, users and categories across the state, and the post-pandemic recovery has given a further fillip to this. It is going to be an exciting next quarter with the festivities and the holiday season, and we are already looking forward to the next set of interesting insights and trends emerging from Karnataka for Q4 2021.”

PhonePe recently launched PhonePe Pulse, India’s first interactive website with data, insights and trends on digital payments in the country. The website leverages geo-spatial technology to analyze digital transaction habits of over 335 Mn Indians, from 2000+ Crore transactions by consumers to show how India is paying, down to the district level. PhonePe Pulse is India’s go-to destination for accurate and comprehensive data on digital payment trends. With over 46% market share, PhonePe’s data is representative of the country’s digital payment habits.