One of the most held visions of India is the vision of financial inclusion. Over 80,000,000 debit cards were issued in the previous year, all backed by a domestic scheme known. With deposits of 33,00,00,000, more than 21,00,00,000 Jan Dhan accounts have been opened in the past year. This has led to the development of a vast, interesting grass root development, empowering them with the help and tools to include them in the mainstream financial system. The recent announcement by the government as per the point-of-sale expansion and incentivizing the card payments would show that it is all about business.
When you dive deeper, you can get a complete picture reflecting where India currently stands. Today we are a 97% cash economy, and 100% of cash withdrawals are done at ATMs through debit cards. We have only 1,00,000 bank branches as a widespread country with a considerable population. These bank branches are not accessible easily to the rural population in close to at least 6,00,000 villages.
More than 624 million people holding debit cards or cards do not have access to the ATM network or any other way to access cash. This is when people have to think about the payment infrastructure which all the players can achieve, and it should benefit them greatly. POS Expansion, Is the new vision that plays a crucial role in the cause of financial inclusion.
With just 1.2 million terminals, India has at least 15,000,000 margins, a considerable gap to fill. India also has high cash to GDP ratio featuring 12% as compared to other developed countries, which had only 5% or less first stop the previous year. The government has announced that it looks forward to enhancing the POS footprint to at least 5,00,000 in the next two years. Additionally, RBI has indicated that India should set up at least 2,00,00,000 POS devices all over the country to have an extensive card acceptance infrastructure equal to other BRIC countries.
A country like Europe today has 7,87,000 POS terminals that are present at 3,07,000 retail locations. Furthermore, you can say that heaps and bounds should improve infrastructure. Also, it must go beyond the terminals and start considering mobile payments to make the most of financial inclusion.
Currently, POS Hardware machines mainly accept various financial instruments, which include debit and credit cards and also wallets. Wallets are gaining a lot of prominences these days for spending and, of course, domestic remittances. Wallets and the accounts linked are funded through remittances in direct benefit transfer. The performances feature debit cards mainly used at the POS terminals for purchases besides cash withdrawals.
The financial inclusion angle would be well rounded with the terminals that act as a vital channel for the cards and wallets regarding wallets and debit cards. It will cost around INR 5000 to 10,000 to deploy any terminal 4 POS, and for the ATM, it will cost around INR 3,00,000 to INR 5,00,000. POS is always better because it has a small footprint and more utility than an ATM. At the same time, it is naturally budget-friendly for the proliferation of digital payments besides financial inclusion.
The POS machines could be used for different types of connectivity, including mobile lines, landlines Internet. They accept plastic cards besides virtual instruments, including wallets and another prepaid instrument. Additionally, in the next 3 to 5 years, more than one billion mobile connections will build a massive case for driving payments through mobile phones. The new payment systems, including mobile POS NFC payments and cards on delivery, would also thrive.
POS terminals play a crucial role in financial inclusion, which will drive and find several takers. Companies today look forward to having a pot of gold at the bottom of the pyramid, but they find it challenging to develop a profitable business model. The increment in the POS terminals and the utilities in combination with the mobile POS and more new-age payment mechanisms can help develop sustainable models. It might make up for the financial inclusion dream sooner than people expect.
All you can say is that digital finance has excellent benefits. For example, digital finance can lead to better financial inclusion and expansion of financial services to the non-financial sectors. Digital finance has the potential to provide cost-effective, convenient, and secure banking services to poor people in developing countries. Digital finance also promises to boost the GDP of our country by providing easy access to a vast range of financial products and services. Financial services are available for individuals and small, medium, and large companies, which will boost expenditure by improving the GDP levels.
Hence financial inclusion plays a crucial role in the development of the global economy. To get the best POS Hardware, you can reach out to Romio Technologies.