When some people loved what GPay did, why did the rest still prefer cash?

In India’s metros, Google Pay became a habit almost overnight. Early adopters loved the speed, the convenience and the cashback offers that came with UPI. But beyond those first users, momentum faltered. In smaller cities and towns, people knew about GPay, yet they still reached for cash. Awareness had been achieved, but adoption had not followed.

To answer these questions, our team of behaviour researchers, UI/UX practitioners and visual designers spent weeks in the field, observing over 3,000 transactions across six tier-2 cities.

The barriers to adoption were not about product design alone, but about human perception and behaviour. People were asked for sensitive details too early in the onboarding journey, and many quit before trying. A persistent myth- that others could peek into their bank account- lingered. GPay itself didn’t feel different from the previous generation of e-wallets; it was just another app icon. And in day-to-day operations at the counter, confirming a digital payment often seemed slower and less certain than handing over currency notes.