Post-DeMo, digital transactions up

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 22

Post-demonetisation, the volume of digital transactions went up as people increasingly began using e-wallets such as Paytm, said a panel of experts working in the financial sector, at the ISB leadership summit here on Friday. The Tribune is an associate sponsor of the event. 

The topic of discussion was ‘Future of banking and money in a digital system’. 

Aruna Rao, CTO, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said the digital infrastructure in banks had improved and that it was an important change for the future.

“Earlier, banks offered traditional services online. But, in the future, digital products that are not provided in a branch, will assume prominence,” she said.

With digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple coming up, the panel discussed the disruptive effect of such currencies for the future.  

Sanchita Mukarji, co-founder and wealth manager at Blue Edge, said, “Crypto currencies have been around for a decade, but it would take some time before they come into the mainstream usage.” 

Mukarji added that the digital currencies could be used for nefarious purposes and by money launderers. 

“Crypto currencies are speculative and are not suited for investment purposes,” she added. 

The panel said as the digital transactions had increased, stronger IT regulations for security were required in order to avoid hacking scams. The panel added that the government response in terms of digital security infrastructure was typically knee-jerk.