Cashless economy: India to see 65% rise in mobile frauds in 2017

Post demonetisation there has been a surge in digital transactions via e-wallets and other online payment gateways

With the surge in digital transactions via e-wallets and other online payment gateways, mobile frauds are expected to grow to 60-65 per cent in the country by 2017, a leading industry body said on Monday.

The joint study by Assocham and research firm EY, titled "Strategic National Measures to Combat Cybercrime", said a secure cyberspace and the government's initiatives in keeping tabs on cybercrime have become an important criteria for business to establish, operate and flourish in any region.

"Mobile frauds are areas of great concern for companies as 40-45 per cent of financial transactions are done via mobile devices and this threat is expected grow to 60-65 per cent," the study noted.

Credit and debit card fraud cases top the chart of cybercrimes and there has been a six-fold increase in such cases over the past three years.

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Save Rs 900 on petrol bill: After cash pain, some cashless gain

With the govt providing discounts in some areas to push digitisation, consumers should try and maximise benefits

The government, a month after implementation of demonetisation, has decided to give a push to digitisation. On Thursday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a slew of incentives for people willing to transact digitally.

Making digital payment on fuel purchases from petrol pumps will be cheaper by 0.75 per cent. New policies bought from customer service portals of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and public sector general insurance companies will attract a discount of eight per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

There are a number of other transactions as well on which the government has decided to give discounts, provided one is willing to take the cashless route. Says Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE: “The government is almost following a placatory approach with these incentives, after almost forcing people to go digital in the first month. This is a good approach, as it makes people more comfortable.”

Some petrol pumps charge two per cent on credit cards, a deterrent for many people. Now, with the government giving a discount, many will be encouraged to use cards. “However, to encourage the use of digital payment more aggressively, I believe, the government should give such incentives in many other areas,” added Sabnavis.

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Demonetisation: Can India go cashless?

Days after the Narendra Modi-led government decided to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, the queues outside banks and ATM centres only seem to get longer. With people scrambling to exchange their old banknotes, the use of plastic money in the form of debit and credit cards is being touted as the way forward. Even the government is promoting cashless transactions to enable people to get by.

1. But how feasible is the idea of a cashless India?
2. Is the total number of cards enough for India to go cashless and still transact freely?
3. What is the current status of POS terminal penetration in India?
4. What do people use debit cards for?
5. What are the challenges in increasing the spread of plastic money in India?
6. Should India go cashless?
   

Economic costs of a money supply crunch and the difficulties in using plastic money on a larger scale across a wider geography in India make it difficult for India to go cashless. Given India’s economic reality, telling people to go cashless might be like telling the poor to eat cake if they can’t find any bread.

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