A Study on Evaluating the Perception of Merchants towards E-Wallet system on Trivandrum District.

Money is a medium that can be exchanged for goods and services and it is also use us a measure of their value in market. Money act as a standard measures and common denomination of trade in economics.

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As our economy is dynamic in nature the changes will occur regularly.For developing nation for its expansion it's should move towards new innovation and always leave a space for the change. E-wallet system is an innovative system with adoption of advanced technology. As compared with at the payment system it has the high advantage of most saving & timesaving. E-wallet system came out with attracting small level consumers and overcoming the problem with plastic money. For enjoying the advantages of e-wallet system the merchants should installed the e-wallet system and have internet connection and it must be carried everywhere. E-wallet system in all sense in an innovative product of payment system which saw benefit to the society so high awareness of e-wallet system will lead ways to this over all developments.For evaluating the Perception of Merchants towards E-Wallet system on

Trivandrum district convenient sampling method is used and 50 samples were collected from the population to conduct the study.

INTRODUCTION

Money is broad term that proffers to any financial instrument that can full fill the function of money of other service without having to handle physical cash or cheques as long as bank is providing services online. The significant effect is we do not have to queue in line , thus saving to our time. Debit card and online bill payment allow immediate transfer of fund from an individual’s personal account to a business account regardless the designated place by few click without any actual paper transfer of money. This bring convenience individual like us and business man. Consumer will have greater privacy when shopping on the internet using. Electronic money instead of ordinary credit card.

A digital wallet prefers electronic device that allow an individual to make electronic transaction. This include purchasing items of an online with a computer for using a smart to purchase something at a store. An individual bank account can also be linked to the digital wallet. They might also have their driver’s license , health card ,loyalty. A digital wallet have both a software and information component. The software provide security and encryption for the personal information and for actual transaction. Typically , digital wallet are stored on client side. Money can be divided into two physical money and e-money.

Physical money is in the physical form currency. Such as back note and coin. It is the most commonly used us medium of transaction. In the modern world the e-money is commonly medium of transaction. E-money means making transaction without physical money , to debit card , credit card , mobile wallet etc. The acceptance of physical money is limited up to the domestic country. While other countries of the world are not ready to accept in case payment. If the government the paper money paper holder will have a workless pieces of paper in his bond. The paper money the paper lack essential quality of durability of money. It can be easily destroyed and then it will have no value. The another problem is if we use physical 3 money then processing of transaction will the more time. Electronic cash (e-cash) for electronic money are playing are more significant role in our daily life due to the raise of internet usage. Most of the money form today is in electronic. We can transfer fund, purchase book and offer a variety are easily self maintained and fully compatible with most ecommerce website.

OBJECTIVES

• · To understand the basic features of the digital payment system
• · To study factors that influencing merchants in an adoption of e-wallet system
• · To study satisfaction of merchants to e-wallet system
• · To identify risk and challenges faced by merchants in use of digital wallet

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

After demonetarization period people begin to use number of mobile wallet like Google pay, Pay time, Oxygen etc. Among this Google pay has more coverage and it is accepted as a wide network of store though of the world. But the use of mobile wallet has some problem like delaying processing, security issues, network issues etc. This problem creates anxiety and dissatisfaction among the users. This study is an attempt to analyze perception of Trivandrum district regarding the use mobile wallet in the business organization. It also focus to check whether the people are satisfied with cashless economy

METHODOLOGY

For this study mainly primary and secondary data has to be used. Primary data is collected with the help of pretested structured questionnaires from various respondents. The primary data is collected from various merchants in Trivandrum district. Convenient sampling method is used and 50 samples are collected from the population to conduct the study. Secondary data have been collected from interest, newspaper, existing literature, magazines etc.

SAMPLING DESIGN

Convenient sampling technique is use for study. A total number of 50 respondents were selected from Trivandrum district for the purpose study.

STATISTICAL TOOLS USED

The data collected where tabulated and analyzed with mathematical tools like percentage, weighted average was used for the purpose of study. The presentation of study where made with the help of tables, pie chart, bar diagrams. Rank method was also used to make the study effective.

E-WALLET SYSTEM –AN OVERVIEW

The mobile wallet is an app that would need to be installed or feature that is already in –built with the smartphone. A mobile wallet is like a storage container that stores credit cards, debit cards, coupons and reward cards. One the app is installed and the user inputs his payment information, the wallet stores this information by liking a personal identification format like a number or key, QR code or an image of owner to each card that is stored. When a user makes a payment at a merchant, the mobile app uses to technology called near –filed communications which uses radio frequencies to communicate the devices . NFC uses the personal identification format created for the user to communicate the payment information to the merchants POS( Point-of-Service)terminal. Not all smart phones or mobile devices are equipped with NFC technology though. Case in point , the iPhone device. For these users, there are alternative ways to use their mobile wallets to make in -store payments. Paypals mobile wallet allows users to make payments by just using their mobile phone numbers during checkout. The phone numbers has to linked to the users paypal account in order for the transaction to be approved. While paypal uses phone numbers, other personal features identifiable to the user like level up mobile wallet uses QR codes which can be scanned at checkout and their defunct square wallet used the image of the user which could be easily verified by the teller or attendant. Fraudulent activities like identify theft are harder to initiate with mobile wallets. While users credit card can easily be stolen or duplicated, smart phone that is stolen maybe hard to access if there an access password or fingerprint check in place. Mobile wallets may also have encrypted keys that the thief may not be privy to. Also for businesses like grocery stores that experience high volumes of transactions per day, mobile wallets help to reduce the wait and payment times which is a win-win for both customers and business. Because mobile wallets at like a digitized version of the physical wallets that are carried around, almost every valuable card that are stored in physical wallets can also be stored 24 in the mobile wallet. In addition to payment cards, the mobile wallet can also be used as a storage device for drivers license, social security number, health information cards, loyalty cards, hostel key cards and bus or train ticket.

Digital wallets are often used interchangeably with mobile wallets but while they both store payment information, they are implemented differently. Digital wallets are mostly used for online transactions and may not necessarily be used on mobile devices. Mobile wallets are used by people who would rather not carry a physical wallet around when making in store purchases. For this reason, these wallets have to be used on mobile and easy to carry platforms. Apple pay, Samsung pay and Android pay are examples of mobile wallets that can be installed on hand-held or wearable device. A regulator paypal account is a form of the digital wallet but when it is used in conjunction with mobile payment services and mobile devices, it serves a mobile wallet.

Main Digital Wallet systems include:

1. PayTm

Pay tm is one of the fastest growing organizations and has been riding on the wave of change. Pay tm is operated by one967 communications, which has its headquarters in Noida. Pay tm has received the mobile wallet service license from Reserve Bank Of India in 2014, and within the end of this year it has aimed to cross the 100-million users mark although it has already crossed the mark of 158 million registered users. With its mobile- first strategy, pay tm does more than 30 million orders digitally and logistics of physical goods every month. Pay tm wallet is India dominating mobile payment service platform. It has gained in popularity and the Twitter tag pay tm has been trending quite a lot. Pay tm also offers its users to transfer money to their bank accounts funds to your bank account or in your friend account using pay tm on mobile at a nominal charge. This method which is also known as IMPS(Immediate Payment Service to make payment though bank account using your mobile) offers more reliability than cash. Pay tm is a 26 mobile e-commerce company which has carved its name within short span of time. Initially, the company provided simple service of mobile recharge and utility bill payments and today it offers a full marketplace to consumers

2. Oxygen

Oxygen India pvt ltd., powered by 12 years of service excellence in the digital business of micro payments of services and remittances in a ‘real time’ environment is India’s largest payments solutions provider. Its business involves service aggregation and distribution, utilizing mobile, pos and web for online payment processing and money transfer services. It is built to service the nation’s Telecom/DTH operators, multiple services providers and Banks and Pan India. Oxygen has a retail footprint of 2,00,000 outlets and has processed over 2 billion transactions till date with a current transactions volume rate of 600 million transactions per annum. It has a large customer base of over 150 million. A large bouquet of services is integrated into a single transactions& payment processing platform, including Prepaid, Postpaid & Subscriptions for all leading service providers across a wide spectrum of industries, like Telecom ,Direct-to-home TV, Internet Broad brand, travel(railways/airlines/bus),cinema/movie tickets, utility bill payments, gaming, music &movie downloads &more. Oxygen wallet is India’s first Non-Bank Wallet app, approved by RBI, which allows you to send and receive money through popular social channels like Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, SMS and E-mail. A customer can instantly send money to any mobile number or 28 bank account in India even if the recipient is not a registered Oxygen wallet user .Oxygen wallet services include money transfer/Mobil/DTH/Data Recharges, Postpaid, Utility bill payments and gift cards for over 60+ brands. Customers also earn loyalty points that can be redeemed as cash into the wallet or as payback points. Oxygen has the largest modern retail footprint of approximately 2,00,000 touch points at a small retail outlets and modern retail stores cumulatively. It seems more than 50 million transactions per month.

3. Mobikwik

Mobikwik was launched in 2009 as a mobile recharge and bill payments application. With the exclusive service provided by Mobikwik. People can share money with their friends and family over their preferred social networks and messaging platform like facebook, whatsapp, Google+,and twitter. It allows users to use their wallet to recharge their mobilephones, pay bills and shop across a large number of online merchants. Mobikwik is an Indian company founded in 2009 that provides a mobile phone base payment based system and digital wallet. Customers add money to an online wallet that can be used for payments. In 2013 the Reserve Bank of India authorized the company’s use of Mobikwik wallet, and May 2016 the company began providing small loans to consumers as part of its service. The company launched its Mobikwik lite mobile app in November 2016, designed for users of older 2g mobile networks and for those in areas with poor internet connectivity. In November 2016 the company reported having 1.5 million merchants using its service and a user base of 55 million customers

4. Google Pay

Google Pay is a digital wallet platform and online payment system developed by Google to power in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices, enabling users to make payments with Android phones, tablets or watches. As of January 8 2018, the old Android pay and Google wallet have unified into a single pay system called Google Pay. Android pay was rebranded and renamed as Google Pay. It also took over the branding of Google chrome auto fill feature. Google Pay adopts the feature of both Android pay and Google wallet through its in-store, peer to peer, and online payments services. 31 The rebranded service provided a new API that allows merchants to add the payments service to websites, apps, stripe, Braintree and Google assistant. The service allows users to use the payment cards they have on file with Google Pay

5. YONO SBI

YONO(You Only Need One) is an integrated digital banking platform offered by State Bank Of India(SBI) to enable users to access a variety of financial and other services such as flight, train, bus and taxi bookings, online shopping, or medical bill payments. YONO is offered as a smartphone app for both android and iOS. YONO offers services from over 100 e-commerce companies including taxi booking, online education and offline retails with special discounts. YONO also offers conventional mobile banking services such as bank account opening, fund transfers, cashless bill payments, and loans. The smartphone app can be used to make ATM withdrawals. YONO is a major digital initiative of the bank and would be available as an omani channel application. Apart from the digital banking product and services, the application will provide online market place which ill e a single touch point for SBI customers to access wide range of “Beyond Banking” products from multiple B2C e-commerce merchant partners. This will include online purchase of retail, travel, daily, fashion and life style needs as well as availing various online services. Online marketplace will also provide personalized offers to the users. It will be B2C platform where the number of merchants will be ramped up over a period of time.

6. BHIM APP

BHIM short for Bharat Interface for Money,is a UPI based service to enable money transfer using just a mobile number.It is an instant payments application meant for sending money as well as requesting for payments. The app is developed by National Payments Corporation of India.Around 2 MB in size,it allows users to transfer amounts up to a maximum of Rs.20000 per day.However,there’s also cap of Rs. 10000 for single transaction. BHIM-Aadhaar Pay,the merchant interface of Bhim app,will pave the way for digital payments using biometric data-finger prints or iris scanners-on a trader’s device which could even be a smart phone with a biometric reader. Under the new cash scheme, the merchants will get a cash back on every transaction using BHIM.For every successful referral,users can earn Rs.10.BHIM users do not need to download mobile applications of multiple banks,instead a single BHIM app downloaded from Android play store is sufficient. Other than that, payments can be made through a virtual payments Id or through account number and IFS code,same as UPI.NPCI,which manages the railroads of UPI and also BHIM,says it is easier to fix bugs and update the new app in case of issues. As per Government data.27 major banks are already on board with 3 lakh merchants so that they can start accept payments using BHIM-Aadhaar.

7. Vodafone m-pesa

Vodafone m-pesa claims to be the one having the largest cash out network.The bouquet of services allows the users to send money to anyone,to make mobile recharges,DTH and utility payments.Money can also be transferred to bank via IMPS service with a nominal charge. The drawback with vodafone m-pesa is that it is limited to only Vodafone users.It has also started with 5% cashback offer per customers and almost earning Rs.25/- per month for limited period of time.Although,the users the service allows users to deposit money into an account stored on their cell phones,to send balanes using PIN-secured SMS text messages to other users,including sellers of goods and services,and to redeem deposits for regular money.Users are charged a small fee for sending and withdrawing money using the service.M-pesa is a branchless banking service;M-pesa customers can deposit and withdraw money from a network of agents that includes airtime resellers and retail outlets acting as banking agents.

8. Phonepe

Phonepe private limited or phonepe is an indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company headquartered in banglore,India.It was founded in December 2015,by Sameer nigam and Rahul chari.phonepe app went live in august 2016 and was first payment app built on Unified Paymeents Interface(UPI) The phonepe available in over 11 Indian languages.Using phonepe,Users can send and receive money,DTH, recharge mobile, data cards,make utility payments,buy gold and shop online and offline.In addition phonepe also allows users to book ola rides,pay for redbus tickets,order food on freshmenu, eaf,fit and avail giobibo flight and hotel services through microapps on its platform. Phonpe is accepted as a payment option across 5 million offline and online merchants outlets covering food, travel, groceries, movie tickets etc. The app crossed 100 million user mark in June 2018 and also crossed 5 billion transactions in December 2019. It is licensed by the Reserve Bank Of India for issuance and operation of semi closed prepaid payment system.

9. Airtel Money

Airtel money is semi-closed wallet that doesn’t permit cash withdrawal or redemption by the customer. It can be used to do recharges, make money transfers to contacts, to make bill payments and for online shopping. It can be used to book train tickets as well. It allows to make payments without loading money in the wallet first. The app also lets you split bills and expenses with the friends, by entering their phone numbers. Cash can be loaded in to the wallet via any airtel money outlet. It has also tied up with various others partners like Uber to make payments.

Advantages of the digital wallet system

Lower cost:
Employing the use of digital wallet removes the need for intermediaries ,in a variety of forms.Purchase in-store may no longer require a cashier because the purchasing process becomes as simple as a tap or scan of a mobile device.Applications like Square can replace expensive POS(point of sale) systems that will reduce transaction costs for the business.

Competitive advantage:

Digital wallet applications provide a more convenient transaction processing method for customers,giving business that employ this technology a competitive edge in the market.It redefines the user experience of paying and incorporates a novelty aspect to each purchase.

Modern:

Traditional cash-only businesses,such as craft fairs and flea markets,can now accept debit and credits.This opens up an entirely new aspect to payment methods in large markets,introducing many business opportunities and greater potential revenue.

Convenience:

Users are able to get through a purchase in mere seconds with a simple tap or scan of their mobile device.The experience of purchasing items becomes quicker and easier-leading to a greater sense of satisfaction.furtermore,with faster transactions,checkout lines within stores become much shorter.

Disadvantages of digital wallet system

Investment:

The initial monetary investment for building a functional digital wallet application is quite large.It requires the initial development of the software as well as the continual maintance.updates and fixes associated with it.Upon acquiring software,the business would also need to install the corresponding hardware in their stores,which leads to a further increase in cost.

Support technology:

There are few supporting technologies to choose from at the moment,with NFC terminals and phone readers being the most prevalent.In case of digital wallets,they can only function with a corresponding hardware device for each application.NFC terminals and specialize scanners are the only devices created at the moment that will support the processing of digital wallet payments;thus,it is very limited because the technology is still new.
System outages: Information for digital wallets are stored on the cloud of business servers; therefore,the risk of a system malfunction or shutdown is always present. As a result,businesses will not be able to process payments or they will become increasingly slow due to high traffic in the servers.

Security:

Companies must ensure that their customer’s information is encrypted and well protected. One of the biggest concerns of adopting a digital wallet application is”will my information be safe”? This is the hurdle that companies must face and as a result, must develop security systems that are as safe and full proof as possible to avoid potential security issues.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

                                                               Table No.1 

                                         Type of E-Wallet System More Preferred

Particulars	No:	Percentage
Google pay	28	56
Paytm	17	34
YonoSBI	0	0
Mobikwik	2	4
Bhimapp	0	0
PhonePe	3	6
Total	50	100

Source: Primary Data

From Table No.1,it is clear that most of the respondents(56%)prefers Google Pay in digital wallet system,34% respondents prefers Paytm,6% of the respondents uses Phonepe and only 4%of them uses Mobikwik.ie,Majority of the respondents uses Googlepay now a days.

                                                               

                                                                   Table No.2

 

                  Main Factors leading Respondents to prefer E-Wallet system over Plastic Money

 

Factors	No:	Percentage
Easy to establish	5	10
Increase the sale of small amount of items.	10	20
Able to attract all level of customers.	3	6
Ease of Transaction	20	40
Low charge on Transactions	7	14
Government Policy	5	10
Total	50	100

Source: Primary Data

From Table No.2,it is clear that majority of the respondents(40%)prefers digital wallet system due to its ease of transaction,20% respondents prefers digital wallet system because of the increase in the sale of small items.

Table No.3

                         Difficulties Faced by Respondents While using E-Wallet System

Statements	No:	Percentage
Lack of Security and Privacy	8	16
Lack of Awareness	2	3
Technology Updation	18	36
Delay in Payment	2	5
High Service Cost	5	10
Internet Problems	15	30
Total	50	100

Source: Primary Data

From Table No.3 it is evident that majority (36%) of the respondents faces difficulty while using digital wallet system because of technology updation problem,30%of them faces difficulties due to internet issues and least (3%)faces difficulty on lack of awareness about digital Wallet system.

FINDINGS

• · Most of the respondents prefers Google Pay in digital wallet system
• · Majority of the respondents prefers digital wallet system due to its ease of transaction
• · Majority (36%) of the respondents faces difficulty while using digital wallet system because of technology updation problem

SUGGESTIONS

• · Aware consumers regarding e-wallet system by introducing strong publicity.
• · Merchants must provide internet facility to consumers.

CONCLUSION

E-wallet plays very significant role in our daily life due to the rise of internet usage. Most of the money form today is in electronic. We can transfer fund, purchase goods, and offer a variety of other services without having to handle physical cash or checks as long as bank is providing such services online. Digital wallet refers to an electronic device that allows an individual to make electronic transactions. This can include purchasing items on-line with a computer or using a smartphone to purchase something at a store. Cashless transactions are fastest, simplest. and safest way of purchase and sales. Active usages of benefits and privileges attached to online trade increases the e-wallet which in turn leads to high spending through purchases of product. It creates a strong positive impact on the business deals in the form of high sales turn over and related benefits to merchants to accept these e-wallet system. Card holders impulse purchase leads to increased volume of sales which is an indicator of business growth and ultimately leads to economic growth. Technological advancements will continue to change all industry, and it is the task of the RBI to make sure that these advancements are utilized to the best of their abilities, so as to benefit the customers in the country as best as possible. Digital India program envisages transforming India into digital enpowered society and knowledge economy. Thus the policy of the government is the promotion of cashless transactions. This study presents a detailed account on various aspects of e-wallet system from the point of view merchant-establishments. Volume of business transactions using e-wallet and plastic money in Kerala has sown and increasing trend in recent years. It is expected that in the near future the e-wallet will acclaim as on of the widely used financial instrument that accelerate business deals and economic prosperity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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5. Simon and victor(1994),”Customers risk perceptions of Electronic payment system”
6. George(1995),”The card major leads the way”
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By Bhagya Lekshmi. S S

Posted On : April 25, 2021

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