Australia's market regulator has commenced civil penalty proceedings against Australia and New Zealand Banking Group for allegedly misleading its customers over their credit card accounts.

Australian regulator sues ANZ over alleged overstatement of Credit Card balances

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Mastercard from acquiring new customers starting July 22. The payments operator has been barred from adding domestic customers across three categories of cards – debit, credit as well as prepaid.

World Business Watch: RBI bars Mastercard from adding new clients in India from July 22

In an unprecedented move, the Reserve Bank has temporarily barred HDFC Bank from launching digital banking initiatives and issuing new credit cards after taking a serious view of service outages at the country's largest private sector lender over the last two years.

The Reserve Bank of India's order came on Wednesday, days after the last instance of service outage across its digital banking channels, including internet banking, mobile banking and other payments. The outage, which happened on November 21, had severely inconvenienced customers, the bank informed the exchanges on Thursday.

In December 2018, the bank's new mobile application crashed within hours of its launch in what was attributed to the inability of the servers to handle the heightened traffic. Exactly a year later, its online channels were down during the salary time. After the second incident, the RBI had said that it was looking into the glitches.

Usually, the RBI slaps monetary penalties on erring entities that comes under its regulatory framework. 
On Thursday, HDFC Bank said the latest incident on November 21 was a result of a power failure in its primary data center.

"The RBI has advised the bank to temporarily stop all launches of the digital business generating activities planned under its programme - Digital 2.0 (to be launched) and other proposed business generating IT applications, and sourcing of new credit card customers," the bank informed the stock exchanges in a filing.

The central bank has also asked HDFC Bank to ensure that its board "examines the lapses and fixes accountability". This is the first major challenge faced by its new chief executive Shashidhar Jagdishan, who took charge in late October.

The bank is the largest issuer of credit cards and had 1.49 crore customers as of September this year while on the debit cards front, it had 3.38 crore customers.

A HDFC Bank official said existing users will be able to continue using the services and added that security-related updates for mobile banking apps will be the only addition allowed till the RBI order is in force.

Details of the timeline for which the order will be in force or targets/ milestones asked to be achieved by the bank before it goes back to business as usual, were not immediately known. More details on the yet-to-be-launched Digital 2.0 programme were also not available.

After every instance of outage, HDFC Bank has seen many of the customers venting their ire on online mediums. About the November 21 outage as well, there were users complaining about instances like being stuck at merchant establishments as payments were not going through.

Given the spurt in alternative channel usage for undertaking banking and payment activities, HDFC Bank's peers also face similar difficulties. Its larger rival SBI had to face ire of customers earlier this week, with complaints of transaction failures. The SBI had faced technical glitches the previous month as well.

In the filing on Thursday, HDFC Bank said it has been its endeavour to provide seamless digital services and added that it has been "taking?conscious, concrete steps to remedy the recent outages on its digital banking channels".

The bank also said theses measures will not "materially impact its overall business".

Shares of the bank were trading nearly two per cent lower at Rs 1,382 on the BSE in afternoon trade.

In an unprecedented move, the Reserve Bank has temporarily barred HDFC Bank from launching digital banking initiatives and issuing new credit cards after taking a serious view of service outages at the country's largest private sector lender over the last two years.

In an unprecedented move, the Reserve Bank has temporarily barred HDFC Bank from launching digital banking initiatives and issuing new credit cards after taking a serious view of service outages at the country's largest private sector lender over the last two years. The Reserve Bank of India's order came on Wednesday, days after the last instance of service outage across its digital banking channels, including internet banking, mobile banking and other payments. The outage, which happened on November 21, had severely inconvenienced customers, the bank informed the exchanges on Thursday. In December 2018, the bank's new mobile application crashed within hours of its launch in what was attributed to the inability of the servers to handle the heightened traffic. Exactly a year later, its online channels were down during the salary time. After the second incident, the RBI had said that it was looking into the glitches. Usually, the RBI slaps monetary penalties on erring entities that comes under its regulatory framework. On Thursday, HDFC Bank said the latest incident on November 21 was a result of a power failure in its primary data center. "The RBI has advised the bank to temporarily stop all launches of the digital business generating activities planned under its programme - Digital 2.0 (to be launched) and other proposed business generating IT applications, and sourcing of new credit card customers," the bank informed the stock exchanges in a filing. The central bank has also asked HDFC Bank to ensure that its board "examines the lapses and fixes accountability". This is the first major challenge faced by its new chief executive Shashidhar Jagdishan, who took charge in late October. The bank is the largest issuer of credit cards and had 1.49 crore customers as of September this year while on the debit cards front, it had 3.38 crore customers. A HDFC Bank official said existing users will be able to continue using the services and added that security-related updates for mobile banking apps will be the only addition allowed till the RBI order is in force. Details of the timeline for which the order will be in force or targets/ milestones asked to be achieved by the bank before it goes back to business as usual, were not immediately known. More details on the yet-to-be-launched Digital 2.0 programme were also not available. After every instance of outage, HDFC Bank has seen many of the customers venting their ire on online mediums. About the November 21 outage as well, there were users complaining about instances like being stuck at merchant establishments as payments were not going through. Given the spurt in alternative channel usage for undertaking banking and payment activities, HDFC Bank's peers also face similar difficulties. Its larger rival SBI had to face ire of customers earlier this week, with complaints of transaction failures. The SBI had faced technical glitches the previous month as well. In the filing on Thursday, HDFC Bank said it has been its endeavour to provide seamless digital services and added that it has been "taking?conscious, concrete steps to remedy the recent outages on its digital banking channels". The bank also said theses measures will not "materially impact its overall business". Shares of the bank were trading nearly two per cent lower at Rs 1,382 on the BSE in afternoon trade.

RBI temporarily bars HDFC Bank from issuing new credit cards, launching digital initiatives

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Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resigned on Saturday after being embroiled in a scandal over her use of a credit card to buy luxury personal items, in an abrupt change of heart after vowing she would not stand down.

Gurib-Fakim, Africa&#39;s only female head of state, submitted her resignation in the &quot;national interest,&quot; her lawyer Yousouf Mohamed told reporters.

He said her resignation would take effect on March 23, a move that will bring down the curtain on a saga that has gripped the Indian Ocean archipelago for weeks.

Gurib-Fakim had vowed to fight the accusations that first appeared in local newspaper L&#39;Express -- that she used a bank card provided by an NGO to make personal purchases, including jewellery and luxury goods worth at least 25,000 euros.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced a week ago that Gurib-Fakim had agreed to resign, with a date set for her departure after last Monday&#39;s ceremony celebrating the Indian Ocean archipelago&#39;s 50 years of independence.

But on Wednesday, a statement from the presidency lashed out at &quot;weeks of attacks and false allegations&quot; and said Gurib-Fakim planned to clear her name and would not go.

It is not clear what prompted her about-turn, but her lawyer said Saturday she was &quot;relieved&quot; she had made the decision to resign after enduring a &quot;difficult&quot; time in recent weeks.

Links to Angolan billionaire

Gurib-Fakim, whose role is mostly ceremonial, is a scientist and biologist of international renown, and in 2015 joined the London-based Planet Earth Institute (PEI) to try to develop scientific capacity in Africa.

The presidency said that in May 2016, she received a credit card from PEI to pay for travel and logistical expenses linked to her role but inadvertently used it for unrelated personal expenses.

Gurib-Fakim said she immediately informed the PEI and paid back the amount, as well as all expenses paid by the PEI for her missions.

This was confirmed by the PEI, which said in a statement earlier this week that Gurib-Fakim &quot;thus never received gifts, favours, wages or expenses from the PEI, nor undue benefits or advantage&quot;.

An investigation by L&#39;Express detailed the purchase of a laptop in September 2016, clothes, shoes and jewellery in October, more jewellery in November and luxury clothing in December.

However it was not just the expenditure that provoked anger in Mauritius, but the president&#39;s association with Angolan billionaire Alvaro Sobrinho who helped found the PEI and is himself being investigated in Switzerland and Portugal for suspected fraud.

In 2017 he received permission to open an investment bank in Mauritius, prompting allegations of favouritism on his behalf.&nbsp;

Gurib-Fakim, under pressure from the opposition, resigned shortly afterwards from her role at the PEI.

Gurib-Fakim, Africa's only female head of state, submitted her resignation in the "national interest," her lawyer Yousouf Mohamed told reporters.

Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resigned on Saturday after being embroiled in a scandal over her use of a credit card to buy luxury personal items, in an abrupt change of heart after vowing she would not stand down. Gurib-Fakim, Africa's only female head of state, submitted her resignation in the "national interest," her lawyer Yousouf Mohamed told reporters. He said her resignation would take effect on March 23, a move that will bring down the curtain on a saga that has gripped the Indian Ocean archipelago for weeks. Gurib-Fakim had vowed to fight the accusations that first appeared in local newspaper L'Express -- that she used a bank card provided by an NGO to make personal purchases, including jewellery and luxury goods worth at least 25,000 euros. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced a week ago that Gurib-Fakim had agreed to resign, with a date set for her departure after last Monday's ceremony celebrating the Indian Ocean archipelago's 50 years of independence. But on Wednesday, a statement from the presidency lashed out at "weeks of attacks and false allegations" and said Gurib-Fakim planned to clear her name and would not go. It is not clear what prompted her about-turn, but her lawyer said Saturday she was "relieved" she had made the decision to resign after enduring a "difficult" time in recent weeks. Links to Angolan billionaire Gurib-Fakim, whose role is mostly ceremonial, is a scientist and biologist of international renown, and in 2015 joined the London-based Planet Earth Institute (PEI) to try to develop scientific capacity in Africa. The presidency said that in May 2016, she received a credit card from PEI to pay for travel and logistical expenses linked to her role but inadvertently used it for unrelated personal expenses. Gurib-Fakim said she immediately informed the PEI and paid back the amount, as well as all expenses paid by the PEI for her missions. This was confirmed by the PEI, which said in a statement earlier this week that Gurib-Fakim "thus never received gifts, favours, wages or expenses from the PEI, nor undue benefits or advantage". An investigation by L'Express detailed the purchase of a laptop in September 2016, clothes, shoes and jewellery in October, more jewellery in November and luxury clothing in December. However it was not just the expenditure that provoked anger in Mauritius, but the president's association with Angolan billionaire Alvaro Sobrinho who helped found the PEI and is himself being investigated in Switzerland and Portugal for suspected fraud. In 2017 he received permission to open an investment bank in Mauritius, prompting allegations of favouritism on his behalf. Gurib-Fakim, under pressure from the opposition, resigned shortly afterwards from her role at the PEI.

Mauritius president resigns over credit card scandal

If you are the owner of a credit or a debit card, there is a non-negligible chance that you may be subject to fraud, like <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/02/01/credit-card-chips-fraud/" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">millions of other people around the world</a>.

Starting in the 1980s, there has been an impressive increase in the use of credit, debit and pre-paid cards internationally. According to an October 2016 <a href="https://www.nilsonreport.com/upload/content_promo/The_Nilson_Report_10-17-2016.pdf">Nilson Report</a>, in 2015 more than US$31 trillion were generated worldwide by these payment systems, up 7.3 per cent from 2014.

In 2015, seven in eight purchases in Europe were <a href="https://www.axa-research.org/en/projects/bruno-buonaguidi">made electronically</a>.

Thanks to new online money-transfer systems, such as Paypal, and the spread of e-commerce around the world &ndash; including, increasingly, in the developing world - which was <a href="https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/how-digital-payments-can-transform-the-developing-world">slow to adopt online payments</a> &ndash; these trends are expected to continue.

Thanks to leading companies such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India (which together had <a href="http://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/etail-giants-like-snapdeal-amazon-lose-market-share-in-2015-small-etailers-emerge-as-real-winners/51148399">80 per cent of the Indian e-commerce market share in 2015</a>) as well as Alibaba and JingDong (which had upwards of <a href="https://marketingtochina.com/alibabas-tmall-lose-market-share-china">70 per cent of the Chinese market in 2016</a>), electronic payments are reaching massive new consumer populations.

This is a goldmine for cybercriminals. According to the Nilson Report, worldwide losses from card fraud rose to US$21 billion in 2015, up from about US$8 billion in 2010. By 2020, that number is expected to reach US$31 billion.

Such costs include, among other expenses, the refunds that banks and credit card companies make to defrauded clients (many banks in the West cap consumers&rsquo; liability at US$50 as long as the crime is reported <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards">within 30 days for credit cards and within two days for debit cards</a>. This incentivises banks to make significant <a href="https://www.ovum.com/press_releases/banks-to-boost-spending-on-payment-technologies-in-2016.">investments in anti-fraud technologies</a>.

Cybercrime costs vendors in other ways too. They are charged with providing customers with a high standard of security. If they are negligent in this duty, credit card companies may charge them the cost of reimbursing a fraud.

The types of frauds

There are many kinds of credit card fraud, and they change so frequently <a href="https://www.acorn.gov.au/learn-about-cybercrime">as new technologies enable novel cybercrimes</a> that it&rsquo;s nearly impossible to list them all.

But there are two main categories:

<ul>
	<li>
	card-not-present (CNP) frauds: This, the most common kind of fraud, occurs when the cardholder&rsquo;s information is stolen and used illegally without the physical presence of the card. This kind of fraud usually occurs online and may be the result of so-called &ldquo;<a href="https://theconversation.com/phishing-scams-are-becoming-ever-more-sophisticated-and-firms-are-struggling-to-keep-up-73934">phishing</a>&rdquo; emails sent by fraudsters impersonating credible institutions to steal personal or financial information via a contaminated link.
	</li>
	<li>
	card-present-frauds: This is less common today, but it&rsquo;s still worth watching out for. It often takes the form of &ldquo;<a href="https://www.thebalance.com/g00/how-credit-card-skimming-works-960773?i10c.referrer=">skimming</a>&rdquo; &ndash; when a dishonest seller swipes a consumer&rsquo;s credit card into a device that stores the information. Once that data is used to make a purchase, the consumer&rsquo;s account is charged.
	</li>
</ul>

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/177347/width754/file-20170707-29852-jgkjk7.jpg" />
<figcaption>Credit card machine is sometimes used in the fraud called &lsquo;skimming&rsquo; in which your card details are duplicated.</figcaption>
</figure>

&nbsp;

The mechanism of a credit card transaction

Credit card fraud is facilitated, in part, because credit card transactions are a simple, two-step process: authorisation and settlement.

At the beginning, those involved in the transaction (customer, card issuer, merchant and merchant&rsquo;s bank) send and receive information to authorise or reject a given purchase. If the purchase is authorised, it is settled by an exchange of money, which usually takes place several days after the authorisation.

Once a purchase had been authorised, there is no going back. That means that all fraud detection measures must be done during in the first step of a transaction.

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/177349/width754/file-20170707-29852-126ibrx.jpg" />
<figcaption>Buying online is practical and fast&hellip;yet risky when we do not know the vendors or their websites well.&nbsp;</figcaption>
</figure>

&nbsp;

Here&rsquo;s how it works (in a dramatically simplified fashion).

Once companies such as Visa or Mastercard have licensed their brands to a <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/credit-card-issuer-959984">card issuer</a> &ndash; a lender like, say, Barclays Bank &ndash; and to the merchant&rsquo;s bank, they fix the terms of the transaction agreement.

Then, the card issuer physically delivers the credit card to the consumer. To make a purchase with it, the cardholder gives his card to the vendor (or, online, manually enters the card information), who forwards data on the consumer and the desired purchase to the merchant&rsquo;s bank.

The bank, in turn, routes the required information to the card issuer for analysis and approval &ndash; or rejection. The card issuer&rsquo;s final decision is sent back to both the merchant&rsquo;s bank and the vendor.

Rejection may be issued only in two situations: if the balance on the cardholder&rsquo;s account is insufficient or if, based on the data provided by the merchant&rsquo;s bank, there is suspicion of fraud.

Incorrect suspicions of fraud are inconvenient for the consumer, whose purchase has been denied and whose card may summarily be blocked by the card issuer, and poses a reputational damage to the vendor.

How to counter frauds?

Based on <a href="https://www.axa-research.org/en/projects/bruno-buonaguidi">my research</a>, which examines how advanced statistical and probabilistic techniques could better detect fraud, sequential analysis &ndash; coupled with new technology &ndash; holds the key.

Thanks to the continuous monitoring of cardholder expenditure and information &ndash; including the time, amount and geographical coordinates of each purchase &ndash; it should be possible to develop a computer model that would calculate the probability that a purchase is fraudulent. If the probability passes a certain threshold, the card issuer would be issued an alarm.

The company could then decide to either block the card directly or undertake further investigation, such as calling the consumer.

The strength of this model, which applies a well-known mathematical theory called optimal stopping theory to fraud detection, is that it aims at either maximising an expected payoff or minimising an expected cost. In other words, all the computations would be aimed at limiting the frequency of false alarms.

My research is still underway. But, in the meantime, to reduce significantly the risk of falling victim to credit card fraud, here are some golden rules.

First, never click on links in emails that ask you to provide personal information, even if the sender appears to be your bank.

Second, before you buy something online from an unknown seller, google the vendor&rsquo;s name to see whether consumer feedback has been mainly positive.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/78542/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />And, finally, when you make online payments, check that the webpage address starts with https://, a communication protocol for secure data transfer, and confirm that the web page does not contain grammatical errors or strange words. That suggests it may be a fake designed solely to steal your financial data.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/credit-card-fraud-what-you-need-to-know-78542">original article</a>.

In 2015 worldwide losses from credit and debit card fraud was US$21 billion.

If you are the owner of a credit or a debit card, there is a non-negligible chance that you may be subject to fraud, like millions of other people around the world. Starting in the 1980s, there has been an impressive increase in the use of credit, debit and pre-paid cards internationally. According to an October 2016 Nilson Report, in 2015 more than US$31 trillion were generated worldwide by these payment systems, up 7.3 per cent from 2014. In 2015, seven in eight purchases in Europe were made electronically. Thanks to new online money-transfer systems, such as Paypal, and the spread of e-commerce around the world – including, increasingly, in the developing world - which was slow to adopt online payments – these trends are expected to continue. Thanks to leading companies such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India (which together had 80 per cent of the Indian e-commerce market share in 2015) as well as Alibaba and JingDong (which had upwards of 70 per cent of the Chinese market in 2016), electronic payments are reaching massive new consumer populations. This is a goldmine for cybercriminals. According to the Nilson Report, worldwide losses from card fraud rose to US$21 billion in 2015, up from about US$8 billion in 2010. By 2020, that number is expected to reach US$31 billion. Such costs include, among other expenses, the refunds that banks and credit card companies make to defrauded clients (many banks in the West cap consumers’ liability at US$50 as long as the crime is reported within 30 days for credit cards and within two days for debit cards. This incentivises banks to make significant investments in anti-fraud technologies. Cybercrime costs vendors in other ways too. They are charged with providing customers with a high standard of security. If they are negligent in this duty, credit card companies may charge them the cost of reimbursing a fraud. The types of frauds There are many kinds of credit card fraud, and they change so frequently as new technologies enable novel cybercrimes that it’s nearly impossible to list them all. But there are two main categories: card-not-present (CNP) frauds: This, the most common kind of fraud, occurs when the cardholder’s information is stolen and used illegally without the physical presence of the card. This kind of fraud usually occurs online and may be the result of so-called “phishing” emails sent by fraudsters impersonating credible institutions to steal personal or financial information via a contaminated link. card-present-frauds: This is less common today, but it’s still worth watching out for. It often takes the form of “skimming” – when a dishonest seller swipes a consumer’s credit card into a device that stores the information. Once that data is used to make a purchase, the consumer’s account is charged. Credit card machine is sometimes used in the fraud called ‘skimming’ in which your card details are duplicated. The mechanism of a credit card transaction Credit card fraud is facilitated, in part, because credit card transactions are a simple, two-step process: authorisation and settlement. At the beginning, those involved in the transaction (customer, card issuer, merchant and merchant’s bank) send and receive information to authorise or reject a given purchase. If the purchase is authorised, it is settled by an exchange of money, which usually takes place several days after the authorisation. Once a purchase had been authorised, there is no going back. That means that all fraud detection measures must be done during in the first step of a transaction. Buying online is practical and fast…yet risky when we do not know the vendors or their websites well. Here’s how it works (in a dramatically simplified fashion). Once companies such as Visa or Mastercard have licensed their brands to a card issuer – a lender like, say, Barclays Bank – and to the merchant’s bank, they fix the terms of the transaction agreement. Then, the card issuer physically delivers the credit card to the consumer. To make a purchase with it, the cardholder gives his card to the vendor (or, online, manually enters the card information), who forwards data on the consumer and the desired purchase to the merchant’s bank. The bank, in turn, routes the required information to the card issuer for analysis and approval – or rejection. The card issuer’s final decision is sent back to both the merchant’s bank and the vendor. Rejection may be issued only in two situations: if the balance on the cardholder’s account is insufficient or if, based on the data provided by the merchant’s bank, there is suspicion of fraud. Incorrect suspicions of fraud are inconvenient for the consumer, whose purchase has been denied and whose card may summarily be blocked by the card issuer, and poses a reputational damage to the vendor. How to counter frauds? Based on my research, which examines how advanced statistical and probabilistic techniques could better detect fraud, sequential analysis – coupled with new technology – holds the key. Thanks to the continuous monitoring of cardholder expenditure and information – including the time, amount and geographical coordinates of each purchase – it should be possible to develop a computer model that would calculate the probability that a purchase is fraudulent. If the probability passes a certain threshold, the card issuer would be issued an alarm. The company could then decide to either block the card directly or undertake further investigation, such as calling the consumer. The strength of this model, which applies a well-known mathematical theory called optimal stopping theory to fraud detection, is that it aims at either maximising an expected payoff or minimising an expected cost. In other words, all the computations would be aimed at limiting the frequency of false alarms. My research is still underway. But, in the meantime, to reduce significantly the risk of falling victim to credit card fraud, here are some golden rules. First, never click on links in emails that ask you to provide personal information, even if the sender appears to be your bank. Second, before you buy something online from an unknown seller, google the vendor’s name to see whether consumer feedback has been mainly positive. And, finally, when you make online payments, check that the webpage address starts with https://, a communication protocol for secure data transfer, and confirm that the web page does not contain grammatical errors or strange words. That suggests it may be a fake designed solely to steal your financial data. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

How do you protect yourself from credit card fraud?

The per value transcations of debit and credit cards at points of sale (PoS) terminals has declined post-demonetisation, suggesting the country has a long way to move from cash-based economy to a complete digital one, says a report.

The debit and credit cards transactions at PoSes were worth Rs 352.4 billion in value terms in November and Rs 181.3 billion till December 13, compared to Rs 511.2 billion in October.

The average transaction at PoSes was Rs 1,714 for November and Rs 1,643 for December compared to Rs 2,229 in October, says an SBI Research report.

&quot;The per value transaction declined in post demonetisation, which may be due to less number of PoS machines in the country compared to the demand,&quot; says the report.

It said the country has 15.1 lakh PoS machines but may need an additional 20 lakh more if digitisation has to gain traction. The report says looking at the usage of debit cards only on PoSes, the numbers are still a long way to go.

As of October, per debit card transaction at PoS was Rs 1,500 only, and the number of times transacted was only 1.3. &quot;Thus on an annualized basis, debit card transaction is around Rs 24,000,&quot; it said.

It said the government should thus incentivise the usage of debit card (there are 74 crore debit cards in use) on PoS by giving tax concession like 80C.

The per transaction value of pre-paid instruments (PPIs) including m-wallet also declined post demonetisation.

&quot;This decline is possible due to the fact that still customers are not comfortable in using m-wallets either due to lack of security or trust or awareness,&quot; the report said.

The report, however, said the mobile banking transaction data indicates a huge success, with total volume through mobile banking increased by 9.7 per cent month-on-month to Rs 1245 billion in November 2016.

The per transaction value increased by a whopping Rs 17,207 in November from Rs 14,536 in October.

The report said the current size of digital banking including credit card and debit cards through PoS terminals, transaction through PPIs like m-Wallet, PPI cards and mobile banking is around Rs 1.7 trillion.

This size has to increase from the current level to atleast Rs 3.5 trillion which is a conservative estimate of the gap between the actual currency in circulation and required currency in circulation.

It said there is a need to ensure that per mobile banking transaction increases from the current level of Rs 14,500 to Rs 25,000 monthly.

And therefore to fully utilise the potential residing in the digital channel, banks also need to focus on PPIs, particularly on mobile wallets.

Mobile wallets transactions need to increase from current level of Rs 34 billion to around Rs 100 billion going forward.

&quot;This means that value per transaction is increasing significantly from current level of mere Rs 475 to around Rs 1000,&quot; the report concludes.&nbsp;

(PTI)

The slide in numbers suggests the enormity of the task at hand before the country is transformed into a cashless economy

The per value transcations of debit and credit cards at points of sale (PoS) terminals has declined post-demonetisation, suggesting the country has a long way to move from cash-based economy to a complete digital one, says a report. The debit and credit cards transactions at PoSes were worth Rs 352.4 billion in value terms in November and Rs 181.3 billion till December 13, compared to Rs 511.2 billion in October. The average transaction at PoSes was Rs 1,714 for November and Rs 1,643 for December compared to Rs 2,229 in October, says an SBI Research report. "The per value transaction declined in post demonetisation, which may be due to less number of PoS machines in the country compared to the demand," says the report. It said the country has 15.1 lakh PoS machines but may need an additional 20 lakh more if digitisation has to gain traction. The report says looking at the usage of debit cards only on PoSes, the numbers are still a long way to go. As of October, per debit card transaction at PoS was Rs 1,500 only, and the number of times transacted was only 1.3. "Thus on an annualized basis, debit card transaction is around Rs 24,000," it said. It said the government should thus incentivise the usage of debit card (there are 74 crore debit cards in use) on PoS by giving tax concession like 80C. The per transaction value of pre-paid instruments (PPIs) including m-wallet also declined post demonetisation. "This decline is possible due to the fact that still customers are not comfortable in using m-wallets either due to lack of security or trust or awareness," the report said. The report, however, said the mobile banking transaction data indicates a huge success, with total volume through mobile banking increased by 9.7 per cent month-on-month to Rs 1245 billion in November 2016. The per transaction value increased by a whopping Rs 17,207 in November from Rs 14,536 in October. The report said the current size of digital banking including credit card and debit cards through PoS terminals, transaction through PPIs like m-Wallet, PPI cards and mobile banking is around Rs 1.7 trillion. This size has to increase from the current level to atleast Rs 3.5 trillion which is a conservative estimate of the gap between the actual currency in circulation and required currency in circulation. It said there is a need to ensure that per mobile banking transaction increases from the current level of Rs 14,500 to Rs 25,000 monthly. And therefore to fully utilise the potential residing in the digital channel, banks also need to focus on PPIs, particularly on mobile wallets. Mobile wallets transactions need to increase from current level of Rs 34 billion to around Rs 100 billion going forward. "This means that value per transaction is increasing significantly from current level of mere Rs 475 to around Rs 1000," the report concludes. (PTI)

Demonetisation: Slump in use of cards despite cash scrap

&nbsp;

India&rsquo;s largest mobile payments and commerce platform Paytm has announced registering over seven million transactions worth Rs 120 crore in a day as millions of consumers and merchants across the country try mobile payments on the Paytm payment platform for the first time.

The company is currently doing more transactions than the combined average daily usage of Credit and Debit Cards in India.

Backed by a strong payment ecosystem of customers and merchants, Paytm was able to serve over 45 million users in last 10 days alone and over five million new users added since the demonetisation drive.

With offline transactions now contributing to over 65 per cent of the overall business, the company has also expanded its merchant network by 150,000 additional merchants. This will ensure consumers have more shops in their neighbourhood accepting Paytm than ever before.

&quot;From consumers being able to pay for a cup of coffee in metros, to farmers purchasing seeds using Paytm in Kurnool, we are witnessing an exponential increase in adoption of Paytm as a way to pay by both consumers and merchants alike. We are working around the clock to ensure we can enable users and merchants to complete everyday transactions seamlessly,&quot; said Vice President - Paytm, Sudhanshu Gupta.

Over 10 lakh offline merchants across India now accept Paytm as their preferred payment mode. Paytm is accepted everywhere including taxis, autos, petrol pumps, grocery shops, restaurants, coffee shops, multiplexes, parking, pharmacies, hospitals, kirana shops and many more.

Paytm can also be used to pay at thousands of apps and websites for services like recharges and bill payments, movie tickets, travel bookings, food ordering and shopping. With its assertive focus on mobile payments, the company is inching closer to its aim of making cashless transactions a way of life across India.

(ANI)

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Paytm is currently doing more transactions than the combined average daily usage of Credit and Debit Cards in India.

India’s largest mobile payments and commerce platform Paytm has announced registering over seven million transactions worth Rs 120 crore in a day as millions of consumers and merchants across the country try mobile payments on the Paytm payment platform for the first time. The company is currently doing more transactions than the combined average daily usage of Credit and Debit Cards in India. Backed by a strong payment ecosystem of customers and merchants, Paytm was able to serve over 45 million users in last 10 days alone and over five million new users added since the demonetisation drive. With offline transactions now contributing to over 65 per cent of the overall business, the company has also expanded its merchant network by 150,000 additional merchants. This will ensure consumers have more shops in their neighbourhood accepting Paytm than ever before. "From consumers being able to pay for a cup of coffee in metros, to farmers purchasing seeds using Paytm in Kurnool, we are witnessing an exponential increase in adoption of Paytm as a way to pay by both consumers and merchants alike. We are working around the clock to ensure we can enable users and merchants to complete everyday transactions seamlessly," said Vice President - Paytm, Sudhanshu Gupta. Over 10 lakh offline merchants across India now accept Paytm as their preferred payment mode. Paytm is accepted everywhere including taxis, autos, petrol pumps, grocery shops, restaurants, coffee shops, multiplexes, parking, pharmacies, hospitals, kirana shops and many more. Paytm can also be used to pay at thousands of apps and websites for services like recharges and bill payments, movie tickets, travel bookings, food ordering and shopping. With its assertive focus on mobile payments, the company is inching closer to its aim of making cashless transactions a way of life across India. (ANI)

Paytm registers 7 million transactions worth Rs 120 crore in a day

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