Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS): Nearly 76 per cent Indians now prefer using UPI (unified payments interface) during online checkouts while more millennials (84 per cent) are now using UPI when shopping online, a report showed on Tuesday.

As the physical, digital and virtual worlds are converging, Indians are willing to explore and purchase within apps/browsers as well from the social media platforms, according to new research from financial services technology provider FIS.

The UPI in August saw 6.57 billion transactions, amounting to Rs 10.72 trillion.

According to the data by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the volume of transactions rose 85 per cent and value 67.85 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

About 72 per cent of those surveyed said they now consider discounts and offers as the major driver of their buying behaviour on social media apps.

While 78 per cent Indians say they are likely to purchase fashion products such as clothing, shoes and accessories, 70 per cent would shop for groceries within social media apps.

About 63 per cent will purchase in-app/in-browser gift vouchers, 55 per cent would buy insurance and investment products in the next 12 months, the report mentioned.

"Embedded finance has a great potential to transform customer payment experience offered by banks and financial institutions and drive new avenues of growth for partnering merchants," said Harish Prasad, MD, Banking Solutions, India, FIS.

Apart from a hassle-free customer experience, Indians seek instant gratification and incentives during online purchases.

"Although Indians reflect readiness to embrace embedded financial services, brands need to ensure transparency and safety to win the trust of customers," the report said.

Indians are also keen to embrace the emerging metaverse space as they show interest in buying real-world products virtually in the future.

"About 68 per cent of Indians would like to explore shopping in the metaverse and 57 per cent of Indians would prefer to access the metaverse for banking services in the next 12 months," the findings showed.

Men (60 per cent) are more interested in trying socialising, dating and virtual events in the metaverse as compared to women (48 per cent).