Are Digital Payments Secure and Is India Prepared To Travel 100% Cashless?

The surprising turn of events around the world; flipping our tranquil life into a struggling one is not something we expected to foresee. But the existence of Digital Payments has made life manageable.There are no doubts how Digital payments has made our daily life simple and elegant, by easy transactions among apps made available right through a swipe at your fingertips.

Amid the lockdown, physical transactions becoming unfeasible have let to a remarkable increase in digital payments in India. Multiple companies are making use of this opportunity to grow and expand their territory alluring people within social distancing as they are satisfying their customer quest. There is not only a significant rise in transactions but also seen a double fold increment in the number of downloads of a digital payment platform.

 A survey conducted by consultancy firm local circles with 42,000 respondents has provided with avid proof showcasing ‘’buying essentials and mobile recharge’’ are top use cases for digital payments while Paytm and google pay bagging the top position in digital payment app being used among consumers.

What grounds to this sudden rise with demanding need for digital payments?

As we move into this fourth month of the lockdown the physical transaction through cash has been avoided largely due to possibilities of contact with the COVID virus. Since the flow of cash in malls or various markets is not possible, people are turning into online shopping, courses, and entertainment applications as a medium of spending money in Quarantine which increases the need for digital payment.

Accessibility to ATM has been limited amid the widespread fear of pandemic resulting in the advantage of digital payments. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) insists people turn to digital payment methods to avoid stepping out of houses. The reports showing 54% use Visa card while 30% use Mastercard for making online payments, adding another 12% usage of Rupay cards for the same purpose.

As the words of American activist, Bryant McGill read “Every ending is creating the space and opening for an amazing New Beginning” demonetizing has been the massive step resulting in the development of digital payment in India. Introduction of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) –a medium of making multiple bank account accessible through single mobile application-by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has enhanced the use of digital payments. The instant money transaction system has been promoted by the government aggressively for quite a long time, accounting for 41 percent of total banking transactions and still continuously increasing during the lockdown. Some simple characteristic that is the advantage to UPI users;

• Availability of 24/7 clock and 365 days service
• Usage of the only single application for multiple bank accounts.
• Bill Sharing with friends
• Direct dealing with complaints from a mobile app
• Single click authentications
• Suitable for e-Com and m-Com transaction

Recently the start of ‘UPI Chalenga’ campaign has initiated #IndiaPaySafe promoting the awareness of safety in digital payment.

Pandemic has compelled people to rely on digital payments for even simple amendments. This has brought an increasing number of new customers like local retailers and awakened the interests of the telecommunication company. This being the technology generation, digital payments are easily learned to use and advertising. Indian Express exclusively reports “Our talks with a leading mass-market DTH operator reveals that the ongoing all-Indian lockdown has propelled digital DTH recharges from 60 percent to 80 percent within weeks.” And according to the reports Online bill payments, IT, Software, Media, and entertainment witnessed an immense increase during the lockdown. Reliance Jio partnership with Facebook’s WhatsApp accelerated JioMart ramp-up serving as digital catalysts.

The major boost to digital payment is used by local retailers. Supported by the survey of local firms “Many retail stores and local general stores have been reporting a major rush and spike in order because of the lockdown and as people, purchase and stock essentials to be used during this period” concludes reports. The main reason for his is how digital payment is easy and help in promoting contact-less transaction with precautions during these serious conditions. There have been spiking rise in e-payment to e-commerce platforms. Increasing the usage of shopping groceries and packed food has played an important role in this rise.

As the world is twisted in turmoil struggling to survive, NGOs are doing an amazing job in holding and sticking the bits of pieces of the barely hanging world. This lockdown has seen a massive increase in online donations. In the first 30 days, there was a 180% surge in NGOs’ donation transactions. Razorpay has initiated in developing the finest payment solution with Payment Page Receipts helping the NGOs to streamline their operations and ease some major chunk of administrative burden.

Paying through mobile applications and mobile wallets:

The entire credit for such a development in digital payments owes to the knowledge of operating mobile phones. Mobile has become a significant tool providing short and long-run services in cashless/digital payment. Mobile wallet has also seen a sudden peak in usage.

An increase in the Mobile app for this cause has enhanced further during the lockdown. As per the results of the survey of local firms reports; “When customers were asked what digital payment app have they been using the most in the past weeks, since the outbreak of the pandemic, 33% said Paytm, 14% Google pay, 10% amazon pay while many use other apps significantly.”

Promise of secure transaction:

COVID-19 outbreak or not, the need to pay and be paid without physically going to store has always sounded appealing which has become the current trend. the Digital payment platform is constantly upgrading its security. The increase in online transactions is also prone to an increase in cyber\crimes.

The target group for digital payments is Youths. The use of smartphone is no rocket science to the youngsters, they have a quick understanding of applications and cover 90% sector of usage populations hence safety have been the important criteria in the checklist before logging into any digital payment application. The need to be safe is a human instinct, which is why we are following social distancing and lockdown has been implemented to keep us safe at home. Since the lockdown, the digital payment platforms have made extra sure to keep their line secure assuring us the safety. Cashless/digital payment has given better transparency, scalability, and availability to its advantage. The enhancement of cyber-security and the hike in digital payment platforms have moved us closer to achieving a cashless economy making India 100% ready to go cashless!