Understanding the Acceptance Pattern of UPI in New Normal: A Study in Rural Districts of West Bengal

Abstract

The UPI is an entirely new concept which has changed the entire banking systems. It provides on-the-go services regarding funds transfer with added security, which is adopted throughout the country. Recently, COVID-19 pandemic shook the entire world, which rose due to contamination. Therefore, physical payment systems ceased slowly and digital payment systems such as IMPS, NEFT etc. among these payment systems, UPI (unified payment systems) emerged as an entirely revolutionary payment method. However, despite of the added features, previous studies have shown that the UPI adoption is very slow in the rural parts of India. Literatures show that there has been very few research on the acceptance pattern of UPI in the rural districts of West Bengal. Hence, the present study is an attempt to understand the factors which affect the acceptance/non-acceptance of UPI payment systems. The present study is conducted in two stages. In the first stage, the factors are identified, and in the second stage, these factors were tested for biasness in various demographic factors. Findings suggest that rewards, convenience, and technological factors are biased among occupation, education and location demographics respectively.