One of the obvious debates which has risen on the back of demonetization is whether India is indeed ready to go ‘cashless’ or not. While some factions believe it is not so owing to the mindset of the population at large, others believe the country is not ready owing to incapable infrastructure related to PoS terminals – which seems to be the case as recent data suggests.
It is unfortunate that while the PoS terminal transactions have shot up over the past few years, the same has not been matched by the number of devices supporting such transactions.The mismatch is more poignant if we compare the number of people possessing debit cards and the shortfall of PoS terminals vis-à-vis the data for these two from other nations.
The banks’ role in such a scenario is of significance too. With less than a 50% share of the ATM network in the country, the top five Indian banks control near about 80% of all PoS terminal transactions.
Such data urgently gives heed for the govt. to set up many more PoS terminals across India – as they would mean more transactions and aid economy post demonetization.