Why e-Wallets Are The Future Of Banking eWallets not only make logistic sense, but also offer several advantages over debit/credit cards and cash
By Rustam Singh
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The newest trend for start-ups that utilize daily or frequent transactions, particularly food delivery, transport and ecommerce start-ups is utilizing an inbuilt eWallet for transactions and eventually making it the only form of payments. Whether it's Uber, Zomato credits, Fasoos, Freecharge, MakeMyTrip or any other major player in India, every entrepreneur is redesigning their platform to include a wallet option. This is surprising since the banks have offered internet banking since several years now – and credit/debit cards have been popular since over a decade now, but still nothing has matched the popularity of eWallet. So how do eWallets offer a change as compared to traditional forms of payments and why should the customer be happy with the change?
Accountable
eWallets make the process of online transactions completely traceable and traceable. Every single rupee exchanged, from 1 rupee to thousands, is automatically logged into your eWallet statement and can be viewed on the go, anytime, anywhere. This luxury is unaffordable in cash transactions and is cumbersome in case of mainstream banks because of the multiple layers of security in their login process.
Instant transactions
Unlike e-banking options, eWallets are seamless and enables fast transactions. Bank accounts are slower because they deal with millions of transactions and manage your monthly, annual savings among other government subsidies. However, e-Wallets handle smaller transactions, and thus do not have to pass through an excessively secure passage – thus making refunds and transactions a matter of seconds rather than days.
Safer
Suppose push comes to shove and you lose your bank account number or cell phone, and have for some unexplained reason left your device open without a password. Suppose the hacker or thief steals your account, you risk only losing a few thousand at max because usually consumers put only a few weeks or days worth of money in their wallets, not their entire savings. Imagine losing your full bank account access – and losing your entire life savings – it's unthinkable!
Better customer response
Banks are limited to office working hours, and aren't that responsive to emails. Eventually you'd have to take the time out to walk to the bank and solve an error because India by far still hasn't reached to the point of flawless ecommerce communications for mainstream banks. eWallets are on the other hand are much more responsive, some can even resolve issues over the phone instantly.
Camouflages your credit history/ balance statements
Suppose you do not trust an online portal or payment method completely. The website only offers online payments, and you'd not want to risk your one crucial bank account's details to fishy portals – they can be prone to hackers, phishing scams as well as key logging scams. An eWallet risks only a fraction of your entire wallet's payments. It also acts as a proxy between your bank account and camouflages your bank account balance, credit history and other private details.
Which is your favorite eWallet? Let us know in the comments on our official Facebook page Entrepreneur India.
(Compiled with inputs from Amit Sinha, Vice President, Paytm)
