A STUDY ON THE USAGE PATTERN AND BEHAVIOURAL ASPECTS OF DIGITAL PAYMENT SYSTEMS AMONG YOUNG AND MIDDLE-AGED CONSUMERS IN VIJAYAWADA CITY OF ANDHRA PRADESH

The findings reveal that digital payment modes are widely adopted across both groups, with a significant proportion of respondents using them frequently, daily, or weekly. Young respondents show a higher intensity of usage, while middle-aged respondents exhibit a comparatively more moderate and occasional usage pattern. This indicates that age plays a role in influencing the frequency of digital payment adoption. Regarding expenditure patterns after digital adoption, responses are mixed. While a considerable share of respondents reported no change in monthly expenditure, a notable proportion experienced an increase, particularly among young respondents. This suggests that ease of transactions through digital modes may encourage higher spending behaviour in certain cases. In terms of preference, there is a strong inclination towards digital payments over cash in both groups. A majority of respondents, especially the young, consistently prefer digital modes for daily transactions, indicating a clear shift towards cashless practices.  The study further shows that digital transactions are predominantly used for essential household consumption such as groceries and daily essentials, followed by utility payments. Usage in discretionary categories like dining, entertainment and healthcare remains relatively low, indicating that digital payments are still largely centred around routine expenditure. With respect to budgeting and savings behaviour, digital apps are generally perceived as helpful tools for expense tracking, particularly among young respondents. However, middle-aged respondents show more mixed experiences, with a higher tendency to report overspending and lower budgeting discipline. This reflects differences in financial behaviour and digital adaptability across age groups. Finally, UPI applications emerge as the most preferred digital payment platform across both age groups, followed by debit and credit cards. Young respondents show a stronger preference for UPI, while middle-aged respondents display more diversified usage across different platforms. Overall, the study concludes that digital payment systems have achieved strong penetration among both young and middle-aged users, with higher adoption and enthusiasm among the young. However, differences in usage intensity, financial behaviour and platform preference highlight the influence of age on digital payment practices.  It is suggested that digital literacy programmes should be strengthened, particularly for middle-aged users, to improve their confidence and efficiency in using digital payment systems. Awareness initiatives on safe and responsible spending should be promoted, especially among young users, to prevent unnecessary increase in expenditure due to ease of transactions. Digital payment platforms should be made more user-friendly and accessible to all age groups to encourage wider adoption. Greater emphasis should also be given to educating users about budgeting and expense tracking applications to improve financial discipline. In addition, cybersecurity awareness should be enhanced to build trust in digital transactions and prevent fraud. Efforts may also be made to encourage the use of digital payments beyond essential purchases into areas such as healthcare, entertainment and services for more comprehensive adoption. Strengthening the reliability and security of UPI and other leading platforms will further support sustained usage and user satisfaction.

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