How #Demonetization Could help in #FinancialInclusion and #Fintech Firms to #Empower #CashlessEconomy!

One of the faces of demonetization – Our maid for several years knocks at our door, late in evening yesterday asking for money to buy milk for her son. I oblivious of the “demonization hula boo” started enquiring what did she do with the salary which I gave just a few days back.(Only because I knew she often had to spend money for husbands vagabond ways). She then pulls out a wad of note from her non-descript purse, let me tell u it was a huge wad, which would have been her saving from us for months and more houses in where she toils from morning to evening with a pleasant smile.
Then the reality struck me – this is not so good face of this newest development of #AacheDin.
This drove a hard reality of drilling once more the idea of tools of #Financial Inclusion to the rural sector of society and helping them save. Actually, this move by the government brings a lot of Indians into banking or at least agency banking.
Here are the days when you can auto debit monthly salary to your helper, driver, maali.

The Need of the Hour!

• People in Urban cities looking for shops where they could make a payment using Credit/Debit Card or Digital wallet
• The daily wagers in the tier one cities are being affected badly as people are out of cash and hence turn to shops where they can pay digitally.
• The individuals in tier two and three cities are waiting in long queue outside banks/ATM’s to withdraw cash.
• Marriages have been postponed due to a shortage of cash.

• The Other Side of the StoryIn the evening I went to buy vegetables from my regular stall owner. I asked him how much is the payment[I was lucky to get 2000 bucks from an ATM near me], he told me the amount and then asked my number? I was bit surprised, then he said – I will WhatsApp you my PayU link and you could pay it via that as cash is acting bit pricey these days.
  It was just a matter of 5 minutes and I was able to make the payment through my Net Banking! A step forward towards #FinancialInclusion.

  On the other hand, my cook after going with the trouble of cash issues handed me her account details and asked me to add it and make the payment for the next month salary. We were happy to skip the hassle of withdrawing cash and happy to know #Banking is the need for everyone.

  Looking at the “issues” and the adoption tactics by some of the individuals it does seem that
  #CashLessEconomy is the only viable solution and the need of the hour!

How Could Fintech Solutions Help Societies in Financial Inclusions and adopting the #Cashless mode?

• Agency Banking – Connecting people with banks and bringing the services to their doorstep.
• Mobile Payment Solution – Linking buyer and seller that enable payment anytime anywhere.
• One touch payment solution – Biometric enabled , one-touch payment solution that could be handy to people like #dabbawallah or #chaiwallah
• Helping Local artisans with Virtual reality – Need for a pashmina shawl or the batik print kurta, use the virtual reality and review the products from your living room. And if you liked it, pay the seller through net banking and get the product delivered at your doorstep.
• Government Benefits directly into your account like Jan Dhan Yojna – No more stuffing money to middlemen to get government benefits. Fill the form online, scan and submit the required proofs and get the #benefit directly into your #bankaccount.
• Loans Solutions for Business Funding – Looking to start your own business, get an instant loan once you apply online and scan and submit the required proof. Be the next CEO!
• Get Expert Medical Treatment – How about consulting an expert doctor and paying him through #cashless mode for the rural people?
• Get Medicines and medical care at your doorstep – In need of medicines, you could not find in a store near you? Check out the Online Pharmacy and order them, and they could reach to you in a couple of days.
• Pay Your Kids Tuition Fees via Online Mode – Next time, you do not need to visit the faraway bank or the institute to fill your kid’s tuition fees. Use your Digital Wallet, Net Banking or Credit/Debit card and transfer the amount electronically.

It worth remembering Nehru’s speech “Tryst With Destiny “ – At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.
The New has just Begun… the age of #DigitalIndia the age of #CashlessEconomy , the age of #WhiteMoney , the age of #FinancialInclusion, the age to free ourselves from the burden …. the age to feel #weightless the age to go #Cashless.

References:

The open letter

Paytm Advertisement which emphasizes on Jan Dhan Yojana and #FinancialInclusion is a welcome change