The growing use of digital payments has changed the way college students make purchases, transfer money, pay bills, and manage everyday expenses. Alongside the convenience of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), mobile wallets, debit cards, and internet banking, users need sufficient financial literacy to make informed decisions, protect personal information, recognise fraud, and understand the consequences of spending and borrowing. This paper examines the relationship between financial literacy and digital payment usage among college students. It discusses core dimensions of financial literacy, patterns of digital payment adoption, perceived benefits, risks, and the role of financial education. A descriptive research framework is proposed using a structured questionnaire that may measure students’ knowledge of budgeting, saving, interest, inflation, digital-payment security, and responsible payment behaviour. This is a literature-based draft; no primary survey results are claimed because respondent data have not been provided. The framework can be completed with actual data to explore whether greater financial knowledge is associated with safer and more informed digital payment practices.

Snehal Kameshwar Meshram, Dr. Ujwala Narkhede, "Financial Literacy and Digital Payment Usage Among College Students" International Journal of Scientific Research and Engineering Development, V9(5): Page(1505-1508) September - October 2026. ISSN: 2581-7175. www.ijsred.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.