Yes , if we are to believe Bill Gates
During his recent visit to India , he is supposed to
have said so much !
Source : TOI /
19 Nov 2016
Interview with Surojit Gupta :
Quote :
The US is not as digitized as Kenya is or Tanzania . I
use credit card sometime. I use the cell phone quite a bit now but it's still a
mixed thing and you know it is expected that the plastic card will go away in US in the next 4-5 years and then it will be just your cell phone
Source :
Business Line / 18 Nov 2016
Quote :
According to sources privy to the meeting, Gates told
Minister of IT , Ravi Shankar Prasad that smart phones are better instruments than plastic cards
and payment banks are more sustainable approach for financial transactions
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Now Bill Gates knows that , in USA , credit / debit
cards have been around for ages and now number close to 1500 million (
roughly , 5.5
per person ) !
As against this , in India , credit / debit cards made
their appearance some 20 years back and now number 723 million (
includes 697 million DEBIT cards, of which , 300 million are issued by National
Payments Corporation of India , along with 254 million Jan Dhan Accounts )
This works out to roughly 0.55 card per person !
DISADVANTAGES OF
PLASTIC CARDS :
# They need Card
Readers ( Card Swiping machines / Point of Sales machines )
In India,
currently , there are only 1.44 million machines ; and 100 million retail shops !
And , roughly
1 machine
for 900 persons , as against 1 machine
for 25 persons in
China !
# Usage of
Credit cards is quite costly !
Besides
" Entry Fee " and " Annual Renewal Charges " , you need to pay an interest rate
of approx 16 %
on credit amount used. If you fail to pay in time, this can go up to 30%
In many cases
, this has ranged between 36 % to 48 % !
As per RBI ,
as of end May 2016 , credit card outstanding has gone up to Rs 42,000 crore
# There have
been a large no of cases where hackers have stolen PIN and fraudulently
used the card
details to make purchases , without the knowledge of the owners . Then
there have
been many cases of " duplication " of cards when handed to a shop
# Since dozens
of Banks have issued hundreds of types / varieties of cards for all kinds of
"
purposes " , it is very difficult for a common man to select the most
appropriate one
# Procedure for
getting a card issued in your name is lengthy, requiring many documents
ADVANTAGES OF
MOBILE PAYMENT APPS :
# Of the total
mobile phone population in India , ( around 1033 million ) , smart phones
constitute 240
million . By 2020 , all mobile phones in India are expected to be smart !
# Mobile Wallet
apps ( Paytm
/ Oxigen / itzCASH
/ Paylo / FreeCharge
etc ) , have
actually transformed a smart phone into a Card Reader / Point
of Sale machine !
They are
saying : " Honey! We shrunk the Machine to fit in
your pocket ! "
# UPI ( Universal Payment
Gateway ) does not require you to give any of your bank a/c
details to
anyone !
Just create your own unique " signature
" and start transferring funds between
participating
banks . Soon , it will cover ALL banks and enable payments to
sellers as
well !
# Downloading
of most Mobile Wallet apps is very simple and takes 2 / 3 " touches "
on
your mobile
screen !
Last week ,
CEO of Paytm said in a TV interview :
" Nearly
ONE MILLION
persons have started downloading our app , EVERY DAY , since
announcement
of demonetization . We expect to serve 500 million users by end 2018 "
# Hardly a day
passes without some or other Start Up , releasing a Mobile App to deliver
hundreds of
Financial Products / Services ( including which ATM is full of notes ! )
Do not be
surprised , if P2Plending happens through mobiles in one year !
# Mobiles have
almost become THE
DEVICE for all Online purchases , whether of goods or
of services
. In 2 years , entire E- Commerce will be through mobiles !
# Through IndiaStack , expect entire E -Governance ( including ALL payment of taxes ) ,
to take
place through Mobile phones
Same will
also be true of delivery of all government services to citizens AND redressal
of
all grievances /complaints by citizens
# A smart phone
costing Rs 5,000 can do a hundred thing ( other than phoning and
Video
talking ), whereas a Point of Sale machine costing the same , can just do ONE
THING !
# And when high
denomination notes get embedded with RFID chips ( embracingthe
inevitable ),
it will be a Mobile App ( Fak - e - Mon ) , which will spell :
" RIP , CREDIT / DEBIT cards " !
If you find it difficult to believe Bill Gates
, ask Sundar Pichai / Satya Nadela /
Nandan Nilekani / Mark Zukerberg etc
They will tell us :
" India has the golden opportunity to overtake USA
, by skipping the Jurassic Age of PLASTIC CARDS "
About time , plastic card issuers ( and manufacturers
of PoS machines ) re-invented themselves
!
If they don't make themselves obsolete , someone else
will !
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22 Nov 2016
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
