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The currency in circulation (CIC) declined by Rs 7,600 crore in the Diwali week, making it the first such happening in two decades, a report said on Thursday. This was made possible courtesy of a greater reliance on digital payments by people, the report by economists at SBI said, adding that the Indian economy is undergoing a structural transformation at present. They clarified that the Diwali week in 2009 had also witnessed a marginal Rs 950 crore decline in currency in circulation, but that was purely due to the economic slowdown amid the global financial crisis.
The hoarding of cash accentuated from the very start of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic started taking hold the world over, and fear of the pandemic prodded people to remain liquid for emergency use.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation of four distinct cases from the Assam police, all connected with the death of the state police sub-inspector Junmoni Rabha last month in a suspected road accident, according to officials.
Tokenisation acts as an additional layer of security as it masks sensitive card data such as the 16-digit account number, expiry date and security code. However, the security level of the app and the customer's mobile itself also needs to be taken into consideration, say experts. Nikhat Hetavkar explains the whole idea of tokenisation, how it is enabled, its impact on card transactions and related security guidelines.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 76,000 crore policy boost for semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country in an bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production. Announcing the decision of the Cabinet, IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw observed that electronics plays an important role in everyday life, and semiconductor chips forms a crucial part of electronics. Outlining the details of the scheme, he said the Rs 76,000 crore programme has been approved for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem.
Cheque payments will be safer; the limit for contactless card transactions hiked.
The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday decided to keep policy rate unchanged for third time in a row as it maintains heightened vigil on inflation. The rate increase cycle was paused in April after six consecutive rate hikes aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022.
As it readies for its initial public offering (IPO) later this year, digital payments firm Paytm is honing its strengths to remodel itself from being a payment wallet to becoming a financial services provider, and is working towards narrowing its losses, evident from its most recent Annual Report. Unlike many of its peers, Paytm has started expanding its merchant payment ecosystem. It has realised that though it can take the maximum share of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions, from a revenue generation point of view it will not have any impact.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed how businesses look at payments. Earlier, fintech companies said when they were talking to merchants, they were not interested in digitisation.
In an otherwise agriculture- and public health-focused Union Budget 2018-19, artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain technology, internet of things -- jargons that found little or no mention in the previous Budgets -- managed to make their presence felt.
With vehicular activity picking pace in May, toll collection also saw a huge uptick. Fastags posted an impressive jump of more above 400 per cent in transaction count at 55.17 million, and an over-300 per cent jump in value at Rs 1,142 crore.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is contemplating the implementation of a same-day settlement cycle, known as T+0, in two phases. This is seen as a preliminary step towards instantaneous settlement. The shorter T+0 settlement cycle is being considered for the equity cash segment as an optional mechanism, in addition to the current T+1 (Trade plus one day) cycle.
In a bid to check fraud, the Reserve Bank on Friday decided to permit all banks to introduce card-less cash withdrawal through ATMs.
WhatsApp on Wednesday announced the expansion of its payments service in India to make it easier for people transacting with businesses to pay for purchases directly in the chat, with a choice of UPI apps, including rival digital payment options, as well as credit and debit cards. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg asserted that India is leading the world in people and businesses embracing messaging. WhatsApp said it is working with partners Razorpay and PayU "to make paying for something as simple as sending a message", as the Meta-owned platform unveiled a host of new features to woo businesses in India's booming commerce market.
Amazon customers can now use their Rs 2,000 notes to top up their Amazon Pay balances during cash-on-delivery orders, as it offers a doorstep solution to ease the stress of exchanging such currency. Customers can deposit cash of up to Rs 50,000 per month, including notes of Rs 2,000 denomination, Amazon said. The cash load at doorstep service by Amazon Pay is helping consumers convert high-value notes for digital transactions.
Going by the RBI directive and the overall narrative, Paytm may have lost the rigour of stress tests, audits and compliance.
While the tax treatment does legitimise past crypto transactions, there is a possibility that any, or all, private cryptocurrencies will be banned in future.
It will bear fruit in the next five years, which is why FDI is so strong. The foreigners clearly know what Indians don't, asserts T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
As unified payments interface gets popular, cash transactions will come down as most small payments will be routed through this.
The Unified Payment Interface could propel banking into a new era
Uncertainties on account of COVID-19 pandemic have increased the demand for currency notes not only in India but across the globe, official sources said, dismissing the criticism that demonetisation has failed to reduce cash in the economy. Government sources said that growth of the digital payments system post-demonetisation will ultimately curb the dependence on cash. Official data points out a jump in digital payments through different modes, including plastic cards, net banking and Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The temptation to get into businesses that are hot is perhaps too great for any politician, no matter what his public slogans are. Nehru plunged into hot sectors of his time -- engineering and iron and steel. Modi has plunged into digital payments -- the hot sector of his time, notes Debashis Basu.
India's sprawling digital public infrastructure received a glowing endorsement from billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Wednesday as he praised the country's "great" digital network, reliable and low-cost connectivity, and said this will be the cheapest 5G market. Under the G20 presidency of India, a session on 'Building resilient and inclusive economies- the Promise of Digital Public Infrastructure' was held on Wednesday in New Delhi, where the Microsoft co-founder spoke of India's digital identity Aadhaar, its payment infrastructure, and rapid strides that the country has taken in bringing more people into formal banking system. "India in particular, by laying the groundwork for digital public infrastucture starting with identity system, allows people to build on top of that.
'Isn't it obvious? Do you have a doubt? There is so much data that shows that there is quid pro quo.' 'There are many instances of donations being given after the raids, donations being given before the award of a contract and many other permutations and combinations.'
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel's CEO has warned customers about rising cases of cyber-frauds, citing a recent instance of a fraudster who posed as company executive and under the guise of updating KYC form, tricked a user into revealing bank details to transfer large amount from the bank account. In an email outreach to subscribers, Gopal Vittal, CEO of Airtel urged users to be vigilant against such cases of cyber fraud that are becoming "alarmingly frequent". Vittal spoke of a recent case where a cyber-fraudster posing as company executive called up an Airtel customer on the pretext of updating his Know Your Customer (KYC) form, tricked him into revealing his bank details and transferred a large sum of money from his bank account.
Don't recharge your phone at public outlets -- carry a power bank instead. Avoid clicking on links sent by 'friends'. If you get into an online sexual encounter with a stranger and get blackmailed, refuse to pay up.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed hope that G20 will draw inspiration from the vibrancy of the Indian economy and work towards bringing back stability, confidence and growth on the global landscape.
A fresh PIL was filed on Thursday in the Supreme Court seeking a probe by multiple central government agencies under the supervision of a panel or a former apex court judge against the Adani Group of companies following allegations of fraud and share price manipulation made by the US-based Hindenburg Research.
Modi was honoured with the 'Order of Zayed', the UAE's highest civilian award, in 2019 as a mark of appreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the two nations.
The finance ministry (FinMin) has asked Infosys to work on ways to extract and access taxpayers' real-time data faster and accurately as it is crucial for taking decisions on policy changes. While reviewing progress of the income tax portal 2.0, which had faced glitches, the officials also told the Infosys team to increase the scope of pre-filled data in the ITR forms. Senior officials in the ministry held a review meeting last month with the Infosys team and officials of the Central Processing Centre (CPC).
In its second ruling against Google in less than a week, the Competition Commission on Tuesday slapped a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on the internet major for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies.
A merchant using the bank's merchant App, QR code, PoS or Payment gateways, across all segments, including electronics, apparel, grocery, stand to win assured cashback and prizes on volume build-up, EMI or digital transactions.
It is a classic case of extremes: The worst contraction in GDP along with the highest-ever levels of cash in the economy; and a severe dent in consumption together with strong growth in bank deposits and digital payments.
The digital transformation should not be confined to a small part of the "human race" and its greater benefits will be realised only when digital access becomes "truly inclusive", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the G-20 summit on Wednesday. Modi also strongly pitched for a pledge by the G-20 leaders to work for bringing digital transformation into the life of every human being in the next 10 years so that no person is deprived of the benefits of the new technologies. In a session on digital transformation, the prime minister also said that principle of "data for development" will be an integral part of the overall theme of India's upcoming G-20 Presidency.
But what do banks gain by opening their apps for all? The answer -- rival bank's customers under their fold.
In the excitement over the allocation of bank licences for the private sector, a new category of licence offered by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last year went almost unnoticed. That was when the RBI consolidated the rules for prepaid payment instruments (PPI), popularly understood as e-wallets or gift cards. In the process, the regulator has fast-forwarded a bottom-up card usage industry in India that is completely different from the world of bank-linked credit and debit cards.
Its statement also said Facebook does not use WhatsApp payments information for commercial purposes.
Digital payments provider Paytm is all set to make its market debut as early as this year, with an aim to raise $3 billion (around Rs 22,000 crore). If successful, this could be the biggest initial public offering (IPO) by an Indian company, breaking Coal India's 2010 record of Rs 15,475 crore. According to media reports, the board of One97, parent company of Paytm, is all set to meet this Friday to formally approve the IPO plan.
To educate customers on the modus operandi of financial fraudsters and share inputs on safe banking habits, banks are now coming up with awareness campaigns aimed at preventing customers from falling into the trap of fraudsters.
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