Even though digital payments have become a new normal for many, the current mission is to make them adaptable by all. A myriad of digital payment methods is being introduced including payments through virtual cards, wire transfers, digital wallets such as Google Pay, Phone Pay, Paytm, Apple Pay etc., for automated, secure and auditable processing of digital transactions.
Digital experiences have become an inevitable part of everybody’s life. From consumer-driven trends to business operations, there has been a huge rise in digital activities that is unlikely to go away even after the pandemic has subdued. There has been a significant digital impact sweeping across sectors including remote work culture, virtual events, eCommerce and digital payments are no longer an exception. According to a global market report, more than 70Bn real-time payments were processed in 2020, recording a 41 percent surge compared to 2019.
The Government of India has played a pivotal role in encouraging digital payment transactions in the country. It is introducing new initiatives related to digital payments in the market to cater to one of the fastest-growing fintech landscapes and boost India’s digital market growth which is projected to reach $10 trillion by 2026 from the current $3 trillion.
With the motive of making the entire population of the country adopt digital infrastructure, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday 06 March 2023 launched the “Har Payment Digital” mission to celebrate Digital Payments Awareness Week 2023. The theme of this campaign being introduced by RBI is “Digital Payment Apnao, Auron ko bhi Sikhao” which is eventually going to bridge the gaps in digital payment accessibility and make every user adopt digital payments for day-to-day transactions.
Indian digital payments scenario
Digital payments continue to find acceptance not only in metropolitan but also tier 2 and 3 cities in the country. In 2022, an increase of 76 percent in transactions and 91 percent in value has been recorded in India. Though Digital payments have become a new normal for many, the mission is to make them adaptable by all. A myriad of digital payment methods is being introduced including payments through virtual cards, wire transfers, digital wallets such as Google Pay, Phone Pay, Paytm, Apple Pay etc. for automated, secure and auditable processing of digital transactions.
When one thinks of digital payments, the Indian fintech scenario offers speed, convenience, safety and security. There is no denial of the fact that the existing infrastructure has made digital payments available and accessible, but it needs necessary steps to create more awareness amongst the public to increase acceptance and enhance its adoption.
It is fair to mention that the onset of COVID-19 has spurred financial inclusion by driving digital payments leading to a steep surge in the emergence of platforms facilitating online payments. Further, COVID-19 forced people to stay at home which made an impact on the change of behaviour to spending from physical to digital payments. Due to pandemic induced lockdown and its post-impact, cash has lost its value to a great extent and the graph of digital payments has sky rocketed.
"Har Payments Digital" campaign
The recent launch of “Har Payment Digital” campaign by RBI reinforces the ease of making payments digitally with projections to onboard new consumers into the online payment ecosystem. The launch of the mission appeals the industry stakeholders including banks, non-banks, payment system operators, digital payment users, etc. to adopt digital payments and raise awareness about the merits of using digital payments.
Government of India has been continuously taking an aggressive approach to promoting digitalization of the payment system of the country. They have launched a multitude of initiatives to set up a robust digital payment infrastructure – Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Digital Rupee, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC), FASTag, Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay Cards etc.
The government is striving to build a better infrastructure to facilitate digital payments, particularly in rural areas as well. The newly launched “Har Payment Digital” campaign will also strengthen the digital lending ecosystem. Digital lending and online payment platforms are benefiting users with safe and secure transactions, faster fund transfers and a reduction in the transfer of fake currency. These platforms work on a similar agenda of promoting financial inclusion and making digital payments easily accessible to users.
—The author, Sunny Mittal, is Vice President (Compliance) at RupeeRedee. The views expressed are personal.
(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)
First Published: Mar 28, 2023 10:17 AM IST
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