Helping Asia’s ‘unbanked’ population join a cashless society

E-COMMERCE has brought convenience to many people across the globe. Ever since Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com back in 1994, e-commerce has been slowly inching brick and mortar off the cliff.Especially in developed countries, the adoption of e-commerce has been far more rapid compared to Asia. Reason being, a large percentage of the population in Asia is still “unbanked” or “underbanked”; this leaves many people unable to benefit from the convenience that e-commerce brings.Currently, a majority of the payment options on e-commerce platforms rely on the customer to either have a bank card or online banking at their disposal. In contrast, 38 percent of world’s adults (above the age of 15) do not have a bank account, according to the World Bank Global Findex.

 

That translates to roughly 2 billion people globally who do not have access to services that rely on banking systems. As governments across Asia begin to actively push cashless initiatives, these marginalized groups would not have the opportunity to enjoy the convenience of a cashless society.In South Asia, the disparity becomes even greater – up to 45 percent of the population remains “unbanked”. Even if they held a bank account, over 355 million account holders in developing countries perform manual transaction either in cash or over the counter. Globally, 1.3 billion adults still pay electric, water or trash collection bills in cash.

 

It’s not just about an “unbanked” population. There is a significant proportion of the society within Asia that prefers physical transactions over digital transactions, due to cultural perceptions.

Source: Helping Asia’s ‘unbanked’ population join a cashless society