Although cash is still an important factor when making purchases, the prospect of digital payment gateways replacing this antiquated mode has become a recurring theme for years. The value of total digital transactions is expected to clock in at $10 trillion by 2026. It is, therefore, no coincidence that many enterprises are adopting this method.
This comes as no surprise given that digital payments are known to be more convenient, and cheaper to operate than other standards of payment. They further allow consumers to make contactless transactions at the point of sale, something that many people would prefer if they have concerns of safety and reliability. Many retailers understand this which is why as of 2019, 37 per cent have adopted cashless, digital payments, and this number will surely continue to rise.
Some of the largest companies in the world like Apple and Google are also pushing this industry forward, with their integration of e-payments through their respective apps, garnering hundreds of millions of users and transactions done completely online. Digital wallet apps such as Google Pay and Apple Pay make it fast and easy to make monetary transactions without the need to carry cash. But it is not just the convenience or quickness of e-payments that make it such an appealing option, it is also the spread of the internet as a whole.
Internet connectivity and increasing digitization is at such an increase that it stands to reason that it can be used as an advantage to make transactions for businesses, retailers and even governmental transactions.
It is projected that, in the next 5 years, digital payments will account for 15 percent of all payments made in the financial services and banking sector, a number that is forecasted to only increase. A study by Reports and Data states that the biggest driver of e-payments is the Asian markets, which are projected to add a total value of $3.62 trillion by 2026. This region will be one of the biggest adopters of digital payments because of high numbers of adaptability as well as the large number of people in the region.
Even in Pakistan, the World Bank released a report that set Pakistan’s potential in digital finance at $36 billion. It claims that high-level commitment and awareness of the program can give the country a straight seven per cent boost to its GDP if real-time retail payments are made available.
These projections paint a clear picture that the potential of digital platforms dedicated to providing e-payments is only increasing. With larger awareness and more ease of use, it is a viable option, especially for retailers who would like to see their reach and number of customers go up by a high margin once this mode of payment is adopted.
