Digital Payments: The Way Ahead

Digital payments became the buzzword during the demonetisation period of November-December 2016. But the speed of adoption lost its steam with cash coming back into the system. Nevertheless, people in urban India are still embracing digital mode of payments with every passing day, whereas the adoption rate is slower in the rural part. According to a recent report by EY, emerging markets are leading the way. In both China and India, the adoption rate is 87 per cent. Close behind are Russia and South Africa, both with 82 per cent adoption. In both India and Russia, 99.5 per cent of consumers are aware that there are fintech services available to transfer money and make payments. The elevated awareness in India stems partly from the government’s plan, announced in 2017, to decrease the amount of paper currency in circulation. The spurt in digital payments in India is also fuelled by...