India’s Love for Cash – A Costly Affair

India’s payments industry is on the cusp of a revolution, following the growing global shift towards electronic payments. Despite this, India largely remains a cash-intensive economy – with 86% of transactions still being made in cash.

Have you ever wondered how much this cash dependency costs the people of India?

According to the findings of the inaugural ‘Cost of Cash in India’ report by The Fletcher School’s Institute for Business in the Global Context (IBGC), supported by MasterCard, residents of New Delhi spend an alarming 6 million hours and US $1.5 million to obtain cash.

Read the full press release and report.

The report also provides additional insight on:

• The private costs and risks of cash management facing diverse stakeholders in society: consumers, business, government and financial systems.
• The beliefs and attitudes that may explain the cash usage preference in India.
• How the cost of cash varies across demographics, according to income, employment, age, place of residence and even gender.

Related content:

• ​See what The Times of India and CFO Innovation have to say about the report.