With a population as great as India’s, the number of experimental samples which have been tested in the field of online payments is insurmountable.
While Mark Zuckerberg embarks on the journey of finding a way to satisfy India’s 250 million WhatsApp users by introducing a way of online payment, he is engaging himself in a direct competition with Google Tez. And contrary to popular belief, Google Tez has been really successful in catering to the 1.2 million people who have subscribed to it and carried out more than 140 million transactions in a span of just one year.
What Are the Chances of Success?
The success of any idea backed by accessible technology in a country like India is almost certain after November 2016 when the ruling government decided to devalue the large currency and made the process of transferring money more difficult than ever. It will not be a surprise if the people are never able to have faith in regular banking in the same way ever again.
This is the exact position which Google Tez capitalized on merely months later. And Mark Zuckerberg might just want to do the same, but in doing so he will have to directly compete with Tez and see if he can overtake the market of a balance transfer system which is already easy to use.
Where Is This Needed?
Transferring big amounts in banking is quite common, but what about Microfinance? One of the main selling points of Google Tez was the fact that people who did not have money in the thousands to transfer around were still able to make transfers without any extra charges.
In addition to these, any form of online transfer is documented, and with documentation comes the legal ability to apply for loans based on credibility. The customer history which is established in these sites forms a part of big data which corporations today are very keen to feed off of.
Will It Replace Cash?
Along with Zuckerberg, Amazon.com and many other applications in the world of e-commerce are trying to make their own such platforms and take away a section of the market for themselves. However, the money infrastructure of India is fiat in nature and keeping in mind the rising population, it is safe to say that immediate change in the infrastructure will not be possible.
However, with online banking become more on-fleek, the best time to let idea’s like Zuckerberg’s is now.
