Does Unified Payment Interface (UPI) Contribute to Financial Inclusion? The Case of Construction Workers in Andhra Pradesh

This research highlights the role of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in addressing the financial inclusion challenges within the informal sector of the economy. It considers variables such as financial literacy, financial self-efficacy, documentation process, etc. to examine the association with UPI usage. Data for this research have been obtained from 120 informal sector respondents, working in the construction sector in the Krishna and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh, India through a questionnaire-based survey. Ordinal logistic regression has been used to assess the association between variables. This research reveals that financial literacy and financial self-efficacy have a significant association with financial inclusion via the use of UPI. The documentation process acted as a strong impediment to financial inclusion. Further, the research finds that young respondents are more inclined to use UPI services. All these findings suggest that UPI services are pertinent for financial inclusiveness in the informal sector of the economy.