The Economic Times shares a report released by the Boston Consulting Group and Google, according to which by 2020 digital payments in India will touch $500 billion.
In the next five years, the payments landscape will change in India:
- The Unified Payments Interface which allows customers to link all their bank accounts in a single mobile application will be in use for simple peer-to-peer payments
- Biometrics, cloud computing and Internet of Things will drive payments
- Non-cash payments will overtake cash payments by 2023
Some factors that will help the growth of digital payments in India:
- One factor authentication when paying through wallets
- 3G and 4G penetration in India, and the National Optic Fiber Initiative to provide every village with broadband in the country
- The current 1 billion mobile subscriptions and the 240 million smartphone users will increase
The report also warned that hindrancessuch as unsteady internet connectivity in rural and semi-urban areas, lack of digital literacy among the rural poor and the older generation, and a lack of incentives for non-cash transactions have the potential to hold up the system.
