With the government’s move to demonetize high-value currency notes in early November also came a push towards digital transactions. According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the volume of smaller value transactions, largely represented by modes like Point of Sale (PoS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Immediate Payment Servic (IMPS) and mobile e-wallets saw a strong growth. Even though all electronic transactions’ combined value saw a growth of over 10%, the volume growth was in excess of 42%, indicating that various small value transactions were made through digital channels.
While the shift towards less-cash is encouraging, there remains an aspect of vulnerability when it comes to digital transactions. “The convenience that digital payments have brought to an individual is massive. On the other hand, there is a cost in the form of risks. So the consumers need to be informed and educated about being intelligent in their usage,” said Saket Modi, co-founder and chief executive officer at Lucideus Tech, an IT risk assessment and digital security services provider. At this juncture, it is important for consumers to know the dos and don’ts when it comes to safety of information while transacting digitally. It is imperative to understand that large-scale adoption of digital transactions also attracts cyber criminals who wait for opportune moments to exploit a system’s vulnerabilities.
