A digital payments revolution in India • Hacker News Board

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#151

Post by unmole » Sun, May 21, 2023, 5:24 AM UTC

y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #97

blntechie wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it different from any digital payment? Many European countries and the US has been doing digital transactions for like 2 decades now. How was it not authoritarian then but suddenly when the Asian people do it, it's a way to track everything people does and not the simplest explanation which is it makes transactions easier?

> but suddenly when the Asian people do it As a "brown person", I resent this attempt at weaponizing racism just for the benefit of making your argument. Not only does it make your argument look petty and weak, but it actually damages the real efforts to battle true racism in the US. Please stop.

> As a "brown person", I resent this attempt at weaponizing racism just for the benefit of making your argument.

Pointing out double standards and hypocrisy is not weaponising racism.

> but it actually damages the real efforts to battle true racism in the US.

Why is this something an Asians in Asia should concern themselves with?

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#152

Post by himujjal » Sun, May 21, 2023, 5:41 AM UTC

Weird there are even negative comments about UPI. That too from people who haven't lived in pre-UPI era.

My father and my uncle both have had history of losing cash to robbery earlier in the past in broad daylight. Snatch and run. Huge amounts of cash. My wallet has not seen any paper-based cash in over 1-2 years now and I live in a Tier-4 town/city.

The habit of not giving the extra 1-2 rupees of extra change has gone. Now, its the exact amount. Plus no one these days have to loan out payments. You can directly pay the amount quick.

The scale and the way UPI has become such an integral part of Indian lives is such so much valuable that the minor inconveniences (Privacy & customer care) are ignorable.

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#153

Post by jeff_d_miller » Sun, May 21, 2023, 6:48 AM UTC

ta_vf7xjd34cc wrote: post #125

realityking wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For those who don't know India has been on the receiving end of US sanctions for a variety of reasons. According to wikipedia[0] there‘s only ever been two sanctions against India by the US. A short lived one from 98-99 because of a nuclear ban and a much longer one from 92-2011 related to the space program/missile development. A quick search didn‘t turn up any current US sanctions either. Were there more sanctions…

> A quick search didn‘t turn up any current US sanctions either. The US and Indian governments have had bad relations for a long time. The US has the habit of weaponizing anything and everything. While not exactly sanctions, people don't forget things like PL480[1] that easily: > Many of us still have hurtful memories of the mid-'60s when, after two successive years of savage drought, India desperately needed America…

Domestic mismanagement in India can hardly be called a sanction by the U.S.

In other words, how would an independent financial system have helped India to put food on the table?

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#154

Post by HeavyFeather » Sun, May 21, 2023, 7:47 AM UTC

illegalmemory wrote: post #20

I simply love UPI! I have seen this firsthand in remote villages and it has completely changed how small merchants accept money. Recently, while I was in Goa and even out in the ocean off the coast, the ease with which I was able to make payments was out of this world.

> in remote villages

> the ease with which I was able to make payments

I find it hard to believe that handing cash was "hard" in any way.

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#155

Post by nooby12345 » Sun, May 21, 2023, 8:07 AM UTC

villgax wrote: post #150

padiyar83 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for bringing this clarity. And as an Indian citizen I am glad we took this step towards building an independent payments infrastructure, given how critical a payments clearance system is to the functioning of a modern economy. I don't want other governments to hold us hostage through Visa's and Mastercard's where we are just one sanction away from economic meltdown. Just like what happened recently in Russi…

In case you are not aware, UPI is basically a rebranded IMPS with Venmo style of address. Until UPI actually works internationally it is still a domestic payment system.

Who built the IMPS?

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#156

Post by harrymit907 » Sun, May 21, 2023, 8:07 AM UTC

nine_k wrote: post #68

harrymit907 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is "illegal" and "no longer considered legal tender" different? Regardless of the intentions, I don't see how banning people from using currency notes that they legally owned is not dictatorial. Why is using cash deemed guilty before even having any evidence.

Illegal: you get arrested for possession. Not legal tender: you cannot pay taxes with it, and generally cannot use in monetary transactions.

Agree with the definitions. I guess the OP meant it like "not allowed to use" rather than actually getting arrested for possession.

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#157

Post by vivegi » Sun, May 21, 2023, 8:09 AM UTC

elijaht wrote: post #114

vivegi wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The digital payments infrastructure in India has done more to bring more people into the banking system than what was possible earlier. It is pervasive, ubiquitous and very user friendly. This is all thanks to the mobile data revolution ushered in by the telecoms companies in India over the last decade and a half. Yes, data privacy is a larger issue that needs to be addressed in India, but that is no different than o…

How many hours a week was the average person spending driving to get cash?

My data. Once a week, drive my car to the ATM 1.5 km away. 3 km roundtrip x 52 weeks/yr = approx. 156 km/yr.

My car gives a mileage economy of ~10 km/ltr of fuel. So around 15-16 litres of fuel burning avoided.

If I did half of these ATM stops during other trips, thats still 7 to 8 litres of fuel burning avoided.

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#158

Post by b345 » Sun, May 21, 2023, 8:11 AM UTC

HeavyFeather wrote: post #154

illegalmemory wrote: post #20

I simply love UPI! I have seen this firsthand in remote villages and it has completely changed how small merchants accept money. Recently, while I was in Goa and even out in the ocean off the coast, the ease with which I was able to make payments was out of this world.

> in remote villages > the ease with which I was able to make payments I find it hard to believe that handing cash was "hard" in any way.

Getting cash is hard where there are no ATMs and you aren't offering any services

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#159

Post by runeks » Sun, May 21, 2023, 8:21 AM UTC

> Consumers prefer safer payment methods for big-ticket items. “I use upi to buy chai. But I wouldn’t use it for a plane ticket,” says one architect based in Mumbai.

> There are other flaws with upi.

This doesn't sound like a flaw at all to me, but a feature.

Why on earth would I want to pay a 2% fee for "consumer protection" when I go to a physical store to buy a can of coke?

The reason I do this is only because I have no alternative.

Also, there's nothing preventing building an escrow service on top of UPI, as far as I know. This would be useful for online purchases where the seller isn't entirely trustworthy.

Re: A digital payments revolution in India

#160

Post by hestefisk » Sun, May 21, 2023, 8:33 AM UTC

This is also happening in countries like Thailand and Indonesia with PromptPay and QRIS respectively. Walk past most street stall it’s either cash or QR, no cards.