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The digital payments industry is staring at greater pain in the coming months as the second wave of Covid-19 ravages the country, slowing down consumption and impacting transactions.

Digital transactions across categories fell by as much as 25% in April after a brief phase of recovery, and given the continuing stress on the system, are expected to drop further in May.

With malls and restaurants shut or operating at minimal capacity, and with sectors like fashion and entertainment affected, the impact on the payments industry is expected to be as bad as during last year’s lockdowns, if not worse.