A number of people who were earlier used to paying their utility bills in cash may have shifted to the digital channels during the lockdown, they added.

Digital lenders are seeking guidelines for full digitization and allowing eKYC and eSign mandates.

Going forward, it is critical for India to build an accessible, inclusive and resilient payment system that can withstand sustained shocks in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.

Small Industries Development Bank of India  has extended the repayment period of loans to non-banking finance companies and microfinance institutions to one year from the 90-day period earlier.

Microfinance institutions have sent a distress call to markets regulator seeking to instruct credit rating agencies to delay the ratings on microlenders whose operations have been disrupted by the impact of COVID-19.

Financiers across the spectrum are struggling to trace low-ticket borrowers, about a fifth of their customers, through virtual means.

All major state-owned and private banks have stopped lending to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) due to concerns about their financial health.

Small non-bank lenders plan to come together and sell bonds that make the cut for bank financing.

The lockdown has brought the collection operations of microfinance institutions (MFIs) to a halt, as about 95 percent of the loan repayments are still done through cash.