Payments today looks like a mad scramble. Companies are falling over each other to find the new best way to pay, and businesses have swallowed the hard truth that they can no longer just accept cash. Demonetisation saw to it that even hole-in-the-wall shops got on the digital payment wagon, whether they liked it or not.

Of the 51 million small and medium businesses, nearly 16 million are online. Those in the payments industry estimate that less than 10% of them accept digital payments as bank transfers still reign supreme.

AUTHOR

Arundhati Ramanathan

Arundhati is Bengaluru-based. She is interested in how people use money in the digital age and how new economies will take shape based on that interaction. She has spent over 10 years reporting and writing on various subjects. Previous stints were at Mint, Outlook Business and Reuters.

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