Cheque writing nearly obsolete

New Delhi: Digital transactions contributed 99.8 per cent of India’s retail payments in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY26), with paper-based instruments (cheques) nearly obsolete, owing to policy push, infrastructure support, and deep fintech penetration, a report said on Monday.

Digital payments, led by Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AePS), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), and others, dominate retail transactions, accounting for 92.6 per cent of payment value and 99.8 per cent of transaction volume as of the first quarter of the current fiscal (Q1 FY26).