So we all seem to be enjoying the benefits of digital payments like quick transactions, safe transfers, and convenience in terms of mobility of money ever since digital payments became a trend in India.
Now, we all, as the public as well as the owners of online businesses, wish to know what lies ahead in the digital payments sector that can elevate the same benefits being offered by the digital payments sector.
A recent study having had been reported by a U.S bank that 46% of people do cash transactions less than eight days a month, whereas, 5% admit to never using cash at all clarifies the fact that cash transactions are becoming a thing of the past.
Now there are certain aspects of the digital payments industry that are expected to improve in the future to make it even a smoother pathway for all associated with digital payments in one way or the other.
Be it the rural sector or the urban, India collectively is expected to pick pace with the help of changes required in each sector.
Digital India is set to move swiftly toward making its citizens have access to the internet which is vital for its growth and success in the coming future.
Following are a few of the changes that India is anticipating witnessing in the near future:
- Access to the Internet especially on the smartphones
While India is on its way to providing smooth and uninterrupted access to the internet for its citizens, the need for it has become even heightened with smartphones having got smarter and greatly accessible. All these years it has been witnessed that smartphones are catching up with the up-gradation in technology.
Thus, smartphones are equipped with fast and powerful processors along with many other features that cater to the needs of day-to-day activities.
With all the features found in a smartphone and the addition of payment capability, the owner of it becomes even more dependent on the same.
Hence, accessibility to fast mobile internet makes it even simpler for the user to make evened out payments every time.
The access to uninterrupted and fast mobile internet proves to the sheathing for every smartphone owner as it adds to the facilities offered by the already so smart smartphone.
According to a BCG report, 2015-16 was known to be a watershed period in the payments history. And in just 2 years, between 2015 – 2017, the total value of the mobile payments market doubled.
- The proliferation of emerging markets
As the emerging markets are leading to the entry of new players, new abilities, and new technologies, there is a great expansion of the digital payments sector anticipated in the coming future.
The proliferation of these markets and areas is leading to the promotion of a cashless society in India. Moreover, the initiatives taken by enterprises and governments to elevate technological innovation and financial inclusions are the boosting factors for the digital payments sector.
Hence, emerging markets and the growth of the same are the forte of digital payments’ success in the future.
- New Technologies
With the coming forth of new technologies, it is expected that mobile/digital payments may lead to the development of new payment use cases.
With the new use cases, technologies like IoT and Blockchain are being adopted by enterprises at a higher rate.
Thus, many firms/enterprises are opting to choose new technologies for making things simpler and better.
As it is reported that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently embraced blockchain as the basis of a digital currency within the country and there are more IoT-enabled payments, it is going to add to the digital touchpoints.
Moreover, it is being speculated that in the coming future, connected cars may become a new POS for providing in-car services, which will also include infotainment and real-time navigation.
Furthermore, Open APIs are there to conglomerate data in one place and provide secure interfaces across the stakeholders
- Regulators’ Policies to Better the Digital Payments Industry
It is anticipated that the policies of regulators and central authorities are sure to bring a difference in the Digital Payments Industry.
Making the necessary changes flow in is sure to bring a huge difference in the payments sector.
With the intervention of regulators and government/central authorities in general, digital payments can be eased out further for making the transactions more simplified.
Already certain interventions by the regulators have aided in making digital payments much better. The regulatory efforts have helped in different ways and have made digital payments more secure and convenient furthermore, involvement can enhance the same and/or can bring betterment in the new advancements.
- Collaborative Ecosystem
The collaborations or conglomerations bring forth faster and better payments interface and thus, provide for a broader range of customer offerings.
In the coming future, with more such consolidations, there would be even a further expansion in the digital payments market.
This kind of conglomeration scales up operations and helps make the most of the digital payments market.
6. Betterment in various parts of India
India, in general, by far requires more attention in terms of good connectivity, several bank accounts, and the provision of smartphones.
These glitches are to be looked into for making India actively utilize the services offered by the digital payments industry.
India is estimated to have over 24 million credit cards and around 660 million debit cards. It has also been reported by a study that the majority of these people have multiple cards which makes the number of actual cardholders very less.
With the advent of government intervention and other facilities, it is expected that the same may go up in the near future.
Moreover, in 2014, a World Bank report mentioned that only 53% of all adults (above 15 years) in India have a bank account and most of these are actually dormant.
This scenario hugely affects cashless transactions in the country.
It is expected that with more knowledge and digital India initiative, there are going to be many more bank accounts in the coming future.
Furthermore, good connectivity is expected to help India come to terms with digital payments even more.
There are speculations of POS (Point of Sales) card machines performing much better in the coming time and not failing due to heavy load.
Thus, the internet connection is going to be improvised to not die especially when the buyer is in the middle of making payment/cashless transactions online.