Electronic Payments in India - Looking Back & Surging Forward

Have authored a document on Electronic Payments in India recently.

The document is available on pymnts.com at the following link

http://www.pymnts.com/electronic-payments-in-india-looking-back-and-surging-forward/%3Fhpb

Look forward to hearing your views and feedback

Debt Redefined!

The Indian market for unsecured and secured loans including credit cards has exploded over the last seven years. Access to low cost loans has fueled the growth in consumer spending but has also resulted in "exuberance" and resulted in rising defaults.
As more consumers traverse the rocky path of increasing interest rates and as newer customers enter the credit fold there is an ever growing need for education and advise at the right time!

A movement that has gathered momentum are Internet based communities that facilitate members to exchange notes and also advise on how loans should be managed and repaid in effective manners. Wesabe offers both a forum and a set of tools that help customers make better financial decisions!

This leads us to another question/ opportunity? Perhaps there is an opportunity for lending institutions to play a consultative / advisory role in guiding clients on the quantum of loans that they should take?

Your views?..........................

Cards & Transfers Redefined

There's a small revolution brewing in North America...........coincidentally called the Revolution Card!

There are two products actually....the first is a credit card which consists of a card which has neither the card-holder name nor the card number embossed on it! The cards can be used at the existing Point of Sale (POS) infrastructure and would require customers to use pins to complete their transactions.

The USP - significantly lower merchant interchange fees of 0.5% vis a vis the prevailing rates in the range of 2% ( in North America). For the customer much greater security and identity protection.

The second product is an online money transfer service, that enables customers to transfer funds free of charge! There are fees incurred for withdrawals and some deposit transactions. Quite a healthy benefit for customers using Paypal, Western Union and similar wire transfer services.

The company is backed by Steve Case, one of the founders of AOL and has received funding from an interesting array of investors including Citibank, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank.

The payments industry has typically been driven by Visa, MasterCard, American Express and a few others. Innovations have been typically been incremental & reactive and not always quantum in nature. It is refreshing to see the birth of an all new player that might just change the rules of the game.....