EconomyHouseholds
How do Indian households pay?
UPI payments to merchants grew 23.3% in September 2026 on a year earlier and credit card spending 7.4% in July 2026. Cash taken from ATMs fell 5.3%, and debit card spending fell 0.5%.
Written for anyone who wants an early read of household spending from the payment systems. Data to September 2026.
UPI
Payments by people to shops and businesses, as against transfers between people. Their growth, 23.3%, is lower than in 95% of months since April 2022: still fast, but slowing as UPI reaches more of what households already buy.
UPI payments to merchants, growth on a year earlier
Value of person-to-merchant payments in the month, from NPCI.
How to read it. Part of this growth is a move from cash and cards to UPI, so it overstates how fast spending itself is rising.
Loading chart…
Cards and cash
Credit cards are used mostly by better-off urban households; debit cards and ATM cash reach further. Credit card spending is lower than in 89% of months since April 2022.
Cards and cash, growth on a year earlier
Value in the month, RBI's payment system indicators.
How to read it. Debit cards and ATM cash have been losing ground to UPI for years; falls there mean a change of habit, not less spending.
Loading chart…
Fuel and flights
Petrol sales, mostly to cars and two-wheelers, grew 7.9% in September 2026. Domestic air passengers fell 6.3% in August 2026, lower than in 96% of months since 2010, outside the lockdowns. We began capturing the civil aviation ministry's daily passenger count on 23 October 2026; it will be charted once a few weeks have built up.
Air passengers and petrol, growth on a year earlier
DGCA's monthly domestic passengers; PPAC's petrol consumption.
How to read it. Air travel is a small, better-off slice of households, and airline capacity can limit it as much as demand.
Loading chart…
The workings
The question
Data
Every chart has a table view, a CSV download and a link to its published JSON. Bundles are listed in data status.