The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and ItzCash Cards Limited emphasized the need to accelerate and promote digital payments to ensure a fast paced shift from a cash to a cashless economy.
IAMAI has extended their complete support to the government to create a favorable environment to drive financial inclusion. and said that its members will work out business models that are conducive to push digital payments' growth. This was stated by senior economists, experts and industry captains at the 3rd Financial Inclusion & Digital Payment Conference.
In his keynote address Economist & Former RBI governor S S Tarapore said, “Move from a cash to a cashless economy will strengthen monetary policy. Financial inclusion should be led by understanding the needs of the customers rather than achieving targets.” There is an imperative need for an instrument that is interoperable, has wide usage and acts as a cash storage as also a medium for exchange” .
Naveen Surya, Chairman Digital Payment Committee, IAMAI, said, “There is a need for multiple business models besides the business correspondent / business financial (BC/BF) towards financial inclusion.The conference looked at the usage of prepaid instruments to expand financial inclusion and the viability and efficacy of bank and non-bank regulatory models.” He added, “We also discussed at length the social and economic impact of low financial inclusion and how this needs to be accelerated .Globally Pre-paid cards and digital payments have helped move from a cash to cashless society and we are confident that this can be successfully implemented in India with the right business models and regulatory approvals.”
The conference served as a stage to deliberate ways to form strategic partnerships to deliver next generation payment solutions in the country.
The experts, speakers, panelists and delegates at the 3rd Financial Inclusion & Digital Payment Conference discussed working out a common agenda and pathway to ensure adequate access to financial services at an affordable cost and in a transparent manner through various institutional agencies. The conference saw discussions on the various challenges that have proved to be impediments for financial inclusion and look at bridging the digital divide.
The 3rd Financial Inclusion & Digital Payment Conference. had eminent speakers and panelists including like S S Tarapore, Economist and former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Sudhakar Ramasubramanian, Chief Executive Officer, Aditya Birla Finance, Naveen Surya, managing Director, Itzcash Cards Ltd, Dr K G Karmakar, Managing Director, NABARD, Aditya Menon, Executive Director, Obopay, Avijit Nanda, President, Times of Money, Bikramjit Sen, Chief Executive Officer, TechProcess, Ravishankar, Co-founder and CEO, Nevales Networks, J Sriram, CEO – Mobile Commerce Venture, Bharti Airtel, Sameer Nemavarkar, VP & Head Cards, Axis Bank, Sunil Kulkarni, President, Oxigen, Suresh Sethi, Group President Transaction Banking, Yes Bank, Suresh Vedula, GM Sales – Mobile Financial Services, Nokia, Uttam Nayak, Country Manager, South Asia, VISA and Vivek Nayak, Chief Operating Officer, Avenues India
The eminent speakers and panelists discussed various issues ranging from digital payment system for inclusive growth, challenges for financial inclusion, prepaid instruments and financial inclusion, improving the lives of the unbanked population in India and working model of banks and non banks. There was an exchange of views over the role of RBI in digital payment industry and how it is essential to create an environment that fosters growth and payment innovation. The panel of speakers discussed on how financial inclusion is driving the growth of digital payments in India and the future and growth of this sector.