Encouraging Digital Payments To Stop Cash Dependency

With the launch of the Digital India week in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted that “I dream of a digital India where mobile and e-banking ensures financial inclusion”. His vision is eventually coming to life with the new initiatives like the Digital India campaign led by his government. In addition to that, there is a growing number of innovative fintech companies that are offering various digi pay solutions. Leading to the total transaction value of $50 million approximately, across digital payments this year and is expected to reach $700 billion by 2022.

The widespread growth of the digital payments is due to the national acceptance of digital mode of payments throughout the country. Post demonetisation, there have been several policy and digital infrastructure amendments including GST, financial inclusion and new payment systems such as Aadhar-enabled payments and UPI that further boosted the digital payments sector. The digital growth has overhauled about 80% of the urban population, and with the acceptance of digital and cashless payments has stopped the dependency of a customer carrying in cash. However when it comes to the rural and semi-urban outreach of the digital and financial services, it hasn’t been such extensive. It is only because of the fact that the citizens in the rural community are not aware of the services that are available. Even if they are aware on the few of the services, they don’t have sufficient information or knowledge to leverage the services that are available to them.

It is times like this that sets a perfect platform for organizations like Payworld, to step in and fill in the gap for the untapped audience. Being the leaders in providing assisted financial services to the unbanked audience, and has around two lakh retailers that are spread across 643 cities in India. Furthermore, Payworld is creating more job opportunities and creating new-fangled job avenues for impending genre of retailers that helps in expanding the retail network. The financial leaders of Payworld, takes the responsibility of training the retailers on new financial services through seminars.

The Union budget 2019 was more focused to encourage digital payments, which will further stop our dependency on cash. To push digital payments, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that there will be levying of 2% tax deducted at source on cash withdrawals that are exceeding Rs 1 crore in a year from any bank account and businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 50 crore can offer payments through BHIM, UPI, UPI- QR Code, Aadhaar pay and debit card options and no charges or Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) would be imposed on them or their customers.

Post Budget, most of the financial leaders are in full support of the budget and believe that the boost in the current digital services will help them reach the most remotest areas to extend their financial services and create new set of job opportunities in the digital sector.

The author is the COO, Payworld