Digital Shaadi Economics: How BharatPe Is Powering India’s QR-First Wedding Season

As India enters its peak wedding season, with thousands of ceremonies, shopping sprees and festivities across the country, there is a clear shift underway: wedding transactions are increasingly going digital. What was once cash gifts in envelopes or cheque bundles is now being replaced by scanners, QR codes and credit-led payments.

For this wedding season, data from BharatPe’s merchant network shows surging demand across key wedding-related categories such as jewellery, bridal wear, venue bookings, décor, catering and gifting. A growing share of these high-value purchases are now happening via UPI QR-payments or credit-card enabled EMIs, driven by convenience, security and flexibility.

Why BharatPe is Central to This Transformation

  • New EMI-Credit Card for Big Wedding Spends: In August 2025, BharatPe, in partnership with Unity Small Finance Bank, launched the Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card; India’s first EMI-driven RuPay card that can be linked to UPI.
  • Zero Fees, Auto-EMI Conversion, and Rewards: The card comes with no joining or renewal fees, no hidden charges or foreclosure penalties, and offers flexible EMI conversion (up to 12 months) for large spends, making it ideal for expensive wedding-season purchases.
  • Instant UPI + Credit Combo: Cardholders can link the credit-card to any UPI app (via BharatPe or others), enabling payments at millions of merchants, from jewellery stores to clothing boutiques to caterers, without needing a POS machine.
  • Rewards & Lifestyle Perks: Every EMI-converted transaction earns flat 2 % cashback (as “Zillion Coins”) that can be redeemed for vouchers, products or even to pay off card bills via the BharatPe app. Additional benefits include complimentary lounge access and annual health check-ups.
  • Support for Merchants & MSMEs: For wedding merchants, jewellery shops, bridal boutiques, décor vendors, caterers, BharatPe continues to offer its UPI QR infrastructure and payment-acceptance tools. For many small- and mid-size vendors, that means no heavy investment in POS infrastructure but access to a growing pool of digital-payment consumers.

How to Use BharatPe / Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card This Wedding Season A Simple Guide

  1. Apply via BharatPe App: Open the BharatPe app, go to the “Credit Card” section → apply for Unity Bank BharatPe Credit Card. The card is lifetime-free, with no joining or renewal fee.
  2. Link Card to UPI: In any UPI-enabled app (BharatPe, PhonePe, GooglePay, BHIM etc), choose “Add Credit Card” → select “Unity Bank BharatPe RuPay Credit Card” → set UPI PIN. Once done, you can pay with the card via UPI at any enabled merchant.
  3. For Big Purchases, Opt for EMI Conversion: Purchases above ~₹1,000 can be automatically converted into EMIs (3–12 months) — useful for jewellery, venue booking, large-ticket gift purchases.
  4. Redeem Rewards via BharatPe: Every EMI-converted transaction gives you 2% back as Zillion Coins — redeemable via BharatPe app for vouchers, credit-card bill payment or partner brands.

Merchants: Enable BharatPe UPI/POS to Accept QR & Card Payments: Merchants should ensure their BharatPe QR (or BharatSwipe POS) is active — that way they can receive payments from customers using UPI or the new credit-card + UPI combo.