Abstract :

Digital Payments Have Emerged As One Of The Most Powerful Instruments Of Financial Inclusion In India, Transforming The Way People, Especially In Rural Areas, Access And Use Financial Services. This Study Analyses The Role Of Digital Payment Platforms, With Special Reference To Google Pay, In Bringing Rural Consumers Into The Formal Financial System. Built On The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Framework Of The National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI), Google Pay Enables A Person With Only A Smartphone And A Linked Bank Account To Send And Receive Money Instantly, Pay Bills And Receive Government Benefits Without Visiting A Branch. The Research Examines How Google Pay And Similar UPI-based Platforms Influence Banking Access, Savings Behaviour And Financial Participation Among Rural Populations, Particularly Those Previously Unbanked Or Underbanked, Including Households Below The Poverty Line. It Also Explores Awareness Of Digital Payments, The Ease With Which Rural Users Link Their Bank Accounts, And The Barriers — Digital Literacy, Network Connectivity And Trust — That Continue To Affect Adoption. The Study Draws On Primary Data Collected Through A Structured Questionnaire Administered To 100 Rural Respondents, Supported By Secondary Data From RBI Reports, NPCI Publications And Government Financial-inclusion Sources. The Findings Indicate That Google Pay Has Significantly Improved Access To Formal Financial Services In Rural Areas, Enabling Faster Money Transfers, Easier Receipt Of Government Benefits Through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) And Reduced Dependence On Physical Bank Branches. At The Same Time, Digital-literacy Gaps, Occasional Network Issues And Fear Of Fraud Remain Key Challenges For The Poorest And Least-educated Segments. The Study Concludes That Digital Payments And Financial Inclusion Reinforce One Another, With Platforms Like Google Pay Acting As A Bridge Between Rural, Low-income Communities And The Formal Banking System, Provided Continued Investment Is Made In Digital Literacy, Infrastructure And Consumer Protection.

Published:

11-7-2026

Issue:

Vol. 26 No. 7 (2026)

Page Nos:

476-485

Section:

Articles

License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite