Is Cashless India A Distant Reality?

If making India completely digital and going cashless is not possible right now then it is not impossible as well in near future. If we are targeting to implement cashless move in near future, we need financial literacy and more importantly, digital literacy. We can’t force people to go digital in a country where two-thirds of the population reside in villages. Almost a quarter of the rural populace doesn’t have mobile phones, let alone smart phones. Many villagers do not have a bank account. They do not know how to open an account. So, it would be best to initiate this move in urban areas and later it can be implemented in villages once the cashless awareness grips the villages.

- John Pereira

What is a cashless economy and where does India stand?

• A cashless economy is one in which all the transactions are done using cards or digital means. The circulation of physical currency is minimal.

• India uses too much cash for transactions. The ratio of cash to gross domestic product is one of the highest in the world—12.42% in 2014, compared with 9.47% in China or 4% in Brazil.

• Less than 5% of all payments happen electronically

• The number of currency notes in circulation is also far higher than in other large economies. India had 76.47 billion currency notes in circulation in 2012-13 compared with 34.5 billion in the US.

• Some studies show that cash dominates even in malls, which are visited by people who are likely to have credit cards, so it is no surprise that cash dominates in other markets as well.

Advantages of digital transactions

Convenience

The ease of conducting financial transactions is probably the biggest motivator to go digital. You will no longer need to carry wads of cash, plastic cards, or even queue up for ATM withdrawals. It’s also a safer and easier spending option when you are travelling.

“The benefits are enormous if you leave out the low-income group, which will face a huge challenge. For the rest of the country, it is constructive and simple. It will be especially useful in case of emergencies. You have the freedom to transact whenever and wherever you want. You don’t have to be physically present to conduct a transaction or be forced to do so only during office hours.

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