Analysing Consumers’ Response to Carbon Emission Information in UPI Mobile Applications and Their Green Purchase Intention

Environmental sustainability and climate change awareness have increasingly influenced consumer behaviour and business practices in recent years. Simultaneously, the rapid adoption of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mobile applications in India has transformed digital payment ecosystems into highly interactive consumer platforms, but their potential for sustainable development and climate action remains under-explored. This study examines whether UPI mobile applications can be leveraged to promote environmental awareness and green purchase intention by displaying contextual carbon emission information for payment transactions. The research extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by incorporating concepts from Nudge Theory to analyse how digital payment environments may influence environmentally conscious consumer behaviour. A survey-based study was conducted among UPI mobile application users in the Kolkata region in India. The study evaluated associations between sociodemographic factors, climate control awareness, green purchase intention and user preference for viewing carbon emission information with transactions. Statistical techniques including chi-square tests, binary logistic regression tests and independent-samples Kruskal–Wallis tests were applied for hypothesis testing. The outcome of the study provides insights on how UPI mobile applications can persuade consumers towards green purchase behaviour through contextual informational nudges. The study contributes to sustainable Fintech research by proposing an extension of the TPB framework, where carbon emission information embedded within UPI applications acts as a digital nudge to encourage sustainable consumption behaviour.