Acceptance Towards Digital Payments and Improvements in Cashless Payment Ecosystem

Abstract

Faceless, Paperless, Cashless. ‘Digital India’ is a flagship programme of the Government of India that envisions India as a digitally empowered knowledge economy. As India emerges a global competitor in innovative population-scale payment systems, various digital payment methods have been introduced nation-wide, including Micro ATMs, Banking Cards, Internet Banking, UPI (Unified Payment Interface), Mobile Banking, and Mobile Wallets. However, the Indian economy identifies an unapparent barrier between the growth of Digital India and complete acceptance towards Digital Payment System. India’s present usage of cash as a payment mode can be measured in the terms of India’s cash to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio of 11.4 percent, as of 2019, which is considerably higher than several other developing and developed countries. This also includes costs of cash, such as costs of printing, maintaining cash supply to ATMs, incurred interest and costs due to counterfeit currency, which round up to 10 to 30 percent of India’s GDP. This research studies prior literature and consumer behaviour via ground-level surveys and interviews. We also analyse the cryptic challenges faced by users belonging to different age groups towards complete acceptance of digital payments and modes. For instance, a significant proportion of digital users are minors which spurs the need of shared wallets to allow governed transactions by dependent users. Also, symmetric inter-app transactions, intelligent resolution for effective redressal, credible incentivisation, short-term loans, etc. are proposed. As an outcome, a more reliable, secure, and contemporary working model for a Digital Payment Wallet service using Blockchain Technology has been developed.