How Digitization Supports Rural India In Financial Inclusion

It is of a recent past, the concept of online digital bill payment that were supposed to be a big dream to achieve given the inhibitions the users have for the unreliable complex medium of the digital transaction through liquid money. But it is a thing of past, nowadays, the market of digital payments is booming and so are the people of India embracing the technology.

According to research, the surge in the digital transactions in India was seen very soon as after the implementation of Demonetization, PM Narendra Modi’s fight against black money. This led to continuous months of cash crunches that led the Indian population to believe and use digital modes of bill payment especially for the payment of utility bill payments.

This was further assisted by the government by providing secure payment options and the launching of the regulatory policies for the benefit of the online payment modes and methods.

According to a study by Google (Alphabet Inc.) and Boston Consulting Group(BCG), the quantum of the digital transactions is said to increase by 10 fold by 2020 but the report also says that only the creamy layer of India, that consists of urbanites (20%) will involve completely in the online digital modes of payment even to pay their TNEB electricity bill payment online. But the remaining 80% that is the real India consisting of the rural masses where basic amenities like the continuous supply of electricity and water is still a distant dream.

Barriers for digital payment industry in India

Payment with hard cash is a habit: Habits die hard and when people are unaware of the technological advancements and handling smartphones is a cumbersome and hectic scenario. It will take time to adopt the evergrowing advancements.

Rural masses still have the inhibition towards the digital bill payments as the trust and power they have while making a transaction to pay gas bill or any other bill immediately has an emotional connection and trust with it.

As a solution to this problem, there is a technology in the market that provides a slow transition of the rural masses to accustom to dealing with cash and still become digital and hence making the “Digital India” dream of PM Narendra Modi, a reality.

Xpay.Life is providing bill payment options through ATP kiosks, mobile vans and Pos machines especially for financial inclusion in rural India. Mobile vans are moving vans that consist of the ATP kiosk, a mini ATM and a vending machine that disposes of the condoms and sanitary pads for the rural mass with every transaction that is made from the Kiosk. Now, rural has more landline connections and this technology is easing the Landline Bill Payment less of a hassle and helps in timely payment of the bills. Slowly all the online landline bill payments will be done through a mobile application that would be more comfortable by now to follow after using the kiosks.

Utility bill payments became much easier with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — the one-roof organization for retail bill payments in the country — launching the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

This is the most secure platform to trust and believe in and hence Xpay.Life is already built with NPCI and BBPS security leaving no space for any inhibition for embracing the technology.

As for the quantum of the non-cash transactions happening in the urban space of India, the adoption happened with the booming e-commerce sites like Flipkart and amazon that only helped people warding off the stereotypical shopping and accepting the new forms of booking bus tickets from RedBus, makemytrip.com and so on. Mobile bill payment online is also done as quickly and with a secure channel.

India has sure has a fleeting success with the rapid accustomization to the digital world. It’s time that even the remotest villages will have accessibility to the basic amenities and a choice to be a part of the digital space where they will be doing their TATA Sky recharge through the digital payment method!