96% rise in Aadhaar ATM withdrawals at kirana outlets during lockdown: Report

There was a rise of 96% and 27% in volume and value respectively in AePS withdrawals (Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System or Aadhaar ATM) at kirana outlets across the country during the lockdown.

This growth was a direct result of the various relief funds disbursed by the government to support citizens during the pandemic and was primarily led by rural and semi-urban areas, which witnessed a growth of 61% and 60% in transaction volumes.

The insight was shared as part of a pan-India report titled ‘Retail-O-Nomics’ released by PayNearby, a hyperlocal fintech start-up. The report, a detailed analysis on ‘assisted digital transactions’ amid Covid-19, has been prepared on the basis of transactions registered across more than a million retail touchpoints across the country.

While there was a minor blip (less than 2%) in the overall gross transaction value of assisted digital transactions at retail stores in the initial months of the lockdown, transaction volumes saw a huge spurt of more than 45% in the same period.

This represented a dip in the average ticket size owing to cautious sentiments, reduced purchasing power and largely small ticket DBT withdrawals. It also represented reduced transactions from metro and urban areas, which witnessed a sharp dip of 32% and 64% respectively in gross transaction value (GTV), led primarily by the dip in money transfer business.

Commenting on the report findings, Anand Kumar Bajaj, MD & CEO, PayNearby, said, “India was future-proofed by NPCI and Nandan (Nilekani) with AePS. The fact that during lockdown, 115 million debit cards were out of system due to non-compliance with CHIP & PIN guidelines, but AePS came as a BCP for ATM, helping people access the essential money remitted by the Government of India. The same is reflected in our data, where the disbursal of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) wouldn’t have been possible without AePS withdrawal facility in the region."

By August end, as migrants started moving back to their work locations and India entered into an unlocking phase, the overall gross transactional value of digital transactions at retail outlets saw a revival and growth.

The average monthly gross transaction value (GTV) grew by more than 17%, while transactional volumes dipped by about 7%. It was reflective of revival of money transfer, travel and utility payment businesses, and signified a return of larger ticket size transactions.