Top banks, ecommerce players, regulatory authorities and fintech companies are urging Indian consumers to abandon cash and adopt digital payments and internet banking services as a precautionary measure to slow the spread of Covid-19 epidemic in the country.
Leading banks such as HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and RBL Bank are sending advisories to customers to not only pay digitally, but also to bank online thereby reducing the crowding of branches.
On the other hand, ecommerce players such as Flipkart, Grofers and Big Basket are also pushing for digital to protect both delivery agents and consumers as ‘cash on delivery’ continues to be the preferred mode of payment. The banking regulator Reserve Bank of India on Monday had asked all domestic lenders to “encourage” their customers to pay digitally among the measures required to keep the virus that has globally infected over 1.8 lakh people and claimed over 7,400 lives as on Tuesday, in check.
“…public can use these modes of digital payment from the convenience of their homes through online channels and avoid using cash which may require going to crowded places for sending money or paying bills,” the central bank said in a statement.
While leading private sector lender ICICI Bank on Tuesday launched a set of new digital services initiatives and API stacks to enable banking services remotely, other lenders such as HDFC Bank and State Bank of India said that they have been sending notifications to customers to transact digitally and reduce usage of cash. “We’ve used all communication channels to get the message to our customers,” an HDFC Bank spokesperson said.
Some banks are also urging their customers to use internet banking services to prevent unnecessary crowding of branches. “We are proactively educating and encouraging our customers to take advantage of digital banking facilities from the comfort of homes,” said Deepak Sharma, chief digital officer at Kotak Mahindra Bank. “The Covid-19 pandemic is characterised by people-to-people spread,” adding that the bank has limited the number of staff working at each branch since Monday.
Bankers pointed out that while cash as a physical entity may not be as much of a threat for contagion of the virus but the physical contact during the exchange of cash represents a greater concern.
“The contagious potency of the virus is well understood. Physical contact has been defined by various agency as a carrier and at the end of the day cash is a mode of physical contact,” explained Topendra Bhattacharjee, head digital banking, RBL Bank.
Meanwhile, despite increased push towards digital mode of payment, most ecommerce players said that ‘cash on delivery’ remained the primary payment choice for customers.
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