in this august Fintech Times, wants to highlight some of the amazing things Fintech is doing around the world. We often hear that the latest breakthrough innovations are helping the community, but are these innovations helping those already in a good position, or are they making the financial world more accessible? To The Fintech Times, fintech for good means companies that prioritize financial inclusion and sustainability and help those who desperately need it. .
We previously analyzed five companies that shared their views on what cash-first countries can do to go cashless, and what external players can do to help them do so.
In this article, hear more from the industry on how to successfully implement rapid digitization to help cash-first countries.
Lack of Infrastructure Means Higher Adoption Rates
Looking at the requirements for a successful digital implementation, John Mitchell, Paytech CEO and co-founder Episode Six said: Mobile-first and digital-native propositions require much less infrastructure, so they are quickly adopted and leapfrog obsolete legacy technologies. This digitally native technology is a necessary and appropriate foundation for many crypto ecosystems.
Encryption is an improvement over traditional systems
Richard Raiseinvestment company partners, Plutus 21 capital We discussed consumer preferences and how embracing innovation is a great way for society to go cashless. Ultimately users use what works best for them, so adoption of cryptocurrencies must be more favorable for users than using cash. This is the case when innovation is allowed to occur.
Cryptocurrencies and CBDCs expand access to financial services and innovation, giving users more access, lower fees and a better user experience.
Remittances are very important because they enable people to live off their money internationally, engage in international commerce and support their loved ones. , stablecoins, cryptocurrencies, and CBDCs could disrupt the industry, making transfers seamless with far lower fees.
So far, large companies have been slow to adopt cryptography, but because it is an improvement over traditional systems, cryptography is often desired by end users, so cryptography is often integrated. The trend towards a cashless society will continue.
A cash-first society can embrace innovation, allowing people to use any form of commerce they want without over-regulating, taxing, or freezing user funds. Users use what works best for them, so to adopt cryptocurrency, users must have an advantage over using cash, which is often the case when innovation is allowed to occur. I think that’s it.”
The success of society-wide digital transformation will always depend on free and open access to technology
to Wendlerco-founder peakBeing a Web3 network, emphasizes the importance of physical infrastructure for a cashless society. It runs on physical infrastructure, server stacks, blockchain nodes, and data cables. The success of digital transformation across society will always depend on free and open access to technology. The best way to organize it without having a large platform dictate the rules is to have this hardware owned by the community and managed by a permissionless decentralized mechanism.
Regulation provides a viable foundation
Said strong regulation is at the heart of a strong cashless society David Wilfordchief legal and compliance officer at paytech, global Primex: The most effective way to implement digitization quickly and effectively in cash-first countries is through consumer protection and privacy, industry security standards, and best practices in dispute resolution processes that countries can implement immediately. It is to create a model legal/regulatory structure to prescribe, implement and of course customize to specific circumstances, which many countries lack the means and know-how to tackle such challenges. , provides a solid and viable foundation, resulting in less need for cash and making digital transactions faster, cheaper and more accessible to citizens. It could be a project carried out by an international group. IMF, world Bank, or the United Nations Economic and Social Council, already established in the international community, with the resources and structures to achieve such goals.
Leveling the playing field
Algiers Van OyenProduct Manager icon solution, a specialist provider of services and technology solutions that simplify banking transformation, said: Access is often determined by the governance of the payment system. These countries have failed to develop modern access arrangements due to perceived risks by existing participants and lack of regulatory intervention. These restrictions on new entrants limit the growth of competition in the market and the impetus for innovation arising from competition. Expanding access to digital payments remains a top priority in a cash-first world. This is because digital payments are often the first point of access to the wider financial system for many people. At the same time, it is important for authorities to promote interoperability between different payment service providers to ensure accessibility and avoid monopolies.
Indias Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is operated by a specialized Indian sector. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provides a good example of how a rapid transition to digitization, if strategically implemented, can bring enormous benefits to citizens. UPI separates the customer experience from account ownership, so a customer can use any bank or non-bank app for her UPI-based payments. This means that participation in the underlying infrastructure becomes irrelevant. At the same time, however, the standards (such as APIs) defined by UPI ensure full accessibility and easy switching between providers without loss.
Furthermore, the RBI has updated the rules for access to its Real-time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) systems for non-banks. provides a strong impetus for digital payments, fostering both innovation and competition, as licensed non-bank payment system providers such as prepaid payment issuers, card networks and white-label ATM operators Direct access to payment systems by non-banks reduces the overall risk of the payments ecosystem, reducing payment costs, minimizing reliance on banks, speeding up time to complete payments, Benefits such as the elimination of settlement uncertainty are brought to non-banks, where payments as settlements are made in central bank money.