"Is India ready to go Cashless ?" This question is being asked by a lot of people since past two years. The answer to it can only be given after a thorough research on the present condition of how people deal in cash.
Cashless Economy is an economy where there is no physical circulation of cash and all the transactions are done through online mode. Going cashless will be a boon for the society with an infinite number of benefits. It will bring much needed transparency. All the transactions of the merchants will be revealed and they have to pay taxes accordingly. Corruptions can be curbed, as it is not possible to take much bribe online.
Another very important benefit of going cashless will be that the growth of parallel economy can be slowed if not stopped immediately. People engaging in illegal activities will find it hard to hide their source of income which will ultimately make the parallel economy weak and negligible.
These are just a few benefits of going cashless but despite the benefits it had there are number of problems in its implementation. More than 60% of population lives in rural area which means they have less access to internet and electricity, which are the basic requirement of cashless economy. Most people are computer illiterate and depends on others to do anything online.
In India, around 90% of the transaction still take place in cash and to convert a Cash Based Economy to a Cashless Economy is not an easy task. It will require a lot of dedication and hard work on the part of both the citizens and the government to make the transition from cash based to cashless economy. The Government have done their bit in the past couple of years, which started from Demonetization in November, 2016. Demonetization sowed the seed of cashless economy. Since then, huge advertisement and numerous initiatives like DBT, BHIM and many more are taken by the Government to promote cashless transactions. The Government have paved way for us to accept plastic way of payment, now its up to us to take it forward.
The only thing that the Government will have to ensure is that the online transactions are safe. The most common reason for people not using online mode of payment is because they don't feel safety in it. Security is a big concern in Cashless Transaction. Recently 30 lakhs Debit Cards were affected by hackers. Their are black hat hackers with ability to make clone ATM cards and get their PIN. E-Banking transactions are often hacked. So, these things are to be taken care of foremost in order to make India a Cashless Economy.
Therefore coming back to the main point - "Is India ready to go Cashless ?" NO.
But what's good is, it is getting ready to go cashless. We have seen multi-fold increase in online transactions and use of payment wallets. These are all signs that people are trying to make use of technology and go cashless. As of now, we should not aim for CASHLESS rather we should aim LESSCASH and then proceed for Cashless Economy.
Cashless Economy is an economy where there is no physical circulation of cash and all the transactions are done through online mode. Going cashless will be a boon for the society with an infinite number of benefits. It will bring much needed transparency. All the transactions of the merchants will be revealed and they have to pay taxes accordingly. Corruptions can be curbed, as it is not possible to take much bribe online.
Another very important benefit of going cashless will be that the growth of parallel economy can be slowed if not stopped immediately. People engaging in illegal activities will find it hard to hide their source of income which will ultimately make the parallel economy weak and negligible.
These are just a few benefits of going cashless but despite the benefits it had there are number of problems in its implementation. More than 60% of population lives in rural area which means they have less access to internet and electricity, which are the basic requirement of cashless economy. Most people are computer illiterate and depends on others to do anything online.
In India, around 90% of the transaction still take place in cash and to convert a Cash Based Economy to a Cashless Economy is not an easy task. It will require a lot of dedication and hard work on the part of both the citizens and the government to make the transition from cash based to cashless economy. The Government have done their bit in the past couple of years, which started from Demonetization in November, 2016. Demonetization sowed the seed of cashless economy. Since then, huge advertisement and numerous initiatives like DBT, BHIM and many more are taken by the Government to promote cashless transactions. The Government have paved way for us to accept plastic way of payment, now its up to us to take it forward.
The only thing that the Government will have to ensure is that the online transactions are safe. The most common reason for people not using online mode of payment is because they don't feel safety in it. Security is a big concern in Cashless Transaction. Recently 30 lakhs Debit Cards were affected by hackers. Their are black hat hackers with ability to make clone ATM cards and get their PIN. E-Banking transactions are often hacked. So, these things are to be taken care of foremost in order to make India a Cashless Economy.
Therefore coming back to the main point - "Is India ready to go Cashless ?" NO.
But what's good is, it is getting ready to go cashless. We have seen multi-fold increase in online transactions and use of payment wallets. These are all signs that people are trying to make use of technology and go cashless. As of now, we should not aim for CASHLESS rather we should aim LESSCASH and then proceed for Cashless Economy.
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