Unified Payment Interface (UPI): A Digital Innovation and Its Impact on Financial Inclusion and Economic Development

UPI (Unified Payment Interface) platform has been used especially in India since 2016. This paper is aimed at exploring how UPI is impacting, financial literacy, financial inclusion and the economic development of the poor in India. Structured equation modelling is applied in the paper to explore the path analysis of the relevant construct to establish the relationship. A structured questionnaire of interval scale was administered to gather the data for the study. It is found that UPI is impacting the financial literacy. In addition to that, it is found that financial literacy is significantly impacting financial inclusion which in turn is significantly causing economic development. Moreover, the significant association of financial literacy to financial inclusion is partially mediated by financial stability and the significant association of financial inclusion to economic development is also partially mediated by trust. The main implication of the study is that UPI is helping people in more than one way. It is not only supporting the financial literacy but also contributing to financial inclusion and economic development of the poor, indirectly. Therefore, policy makers can use the findings of this study to frame policies for UPI more effectively in the future. This study is unique as no other study is observed on the linkage of UPI with financial literacy, financial inclusion and economic development of the poor.