Short of Cash? E-wallet to the rescue!

Short of Cash? E-wallet to the rescue!

Apart from the obvious benefits of demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes, another advantage would be the push that plastic money and e-wallets would receive. It’s time to embrace these changes with wide arms as they were anyways going to be a norm in the near future (e-wallets and cards already are a normal practice in developed countries since many years). Let’s face it – it would be sheer foolishness to carry around Rs.10, 000 in 100 Rs. notes denominations! It’s much simpler to let the e-wallet companies think about the safety of our money and we should just concentrate on enjoying our lives peacefully.

So what exactly is an e-wallet?

E-wallets are electronic wallets or an online system to store money. It is sort of a prepaid account in which you can keep your money just like you keep it in your bank account, debit cards, etc. It functions similar to a bank account but has many more features than a mere bank account. The ease of shopping provided by an e-wallet is currently unparalleled. Not even debit and credit cards offer such swift and easy way of buying things or sharing money!

What are the benefits of e-Wallet?

1. The primary advantage of the e-wallet is the ease of use. You don’t need to enter the card or account details for every small thing you buy. Everything is handled by the e-wallet itself.

2. You don’t need to worry about One-Time Passwords (OTPs) while using the e-wallets. The e-wallet system is secure and keeps your money safe.

3. Another big advantage is transactions in small amounts. You can deposit even Rs. 10 in some e-wallets. There is no minimum amount limit like the ones which we have for debit cards, etc.

4. There will no issues of decline in payment as e-wallets are prepaid accounts just like your prepaid sim cards.

5. You can easily share money amongst others even if it is a small amount. Not everyone has cash change while sharing. Also as of now, no card allows for such sharing of money.

6. E-wallets or digital wallets are not just commerce transaction system. They can become your digital identity too. Many e-wallet vendors provide facilities like storing even your digital documents like driver’s license, mark sheets, Aadhar card, Pan Card, etc.

7. Some e-wallets even provide discounts if they are used for making a payment.

Is it secured? What should you do to maintain the security?

E-wallets are very secure systems. The foundation of successes of e-wallets is on security of your financial transactions as well as money in your account. They are deemed secure even by many banks and many banks have started even their own wallets. E.g. SBI Buddy. Very simple steps can help you keep your wallet secure.

They are –

1. Never reveal the username and password of your wallet to anyone.
2. Keep changing the password frequently. The password should be mix of numbers, alphabets and special characters to make it extremely difficult to hack.
3. Always notify the wallet vendor if you find anything suspicious.

Types of e-wallets and some reliable e-Wallet service providers

There are two kinds of e-wallets. One is task specific and other is a general e-wallet. Task specific e-wallets let you use the money in your wallet for those tasks only. For e.g. if you have a Railway e-wallet, you may be able to just do transactions related to railways only (like buying tickets, paying fines, etc.) and nothing else. You may not be able to buy smartphone, etc. using that wallet.

General e-wallets let you do a wide range of tasks. You can buy anything using the wallet plus some vendors may provide facility to store your documents digitally.

Following are some well-known and reliable e-Wallet service providers in India –

1. Paytm
2. SBI Buddy
3. Airtel money
4. MobiKwik
5. mPesa
6. Lime Wallet (By Axis Bank)
7. Idea Money (By telecom giant Idea)

How to get yourself an e-Wallet?

It is extremely easy to get an e-wallet.

1. You first need to decide which e-wallet you would like, out of host of options available out there.
2. On narrowing on one option, you can open an account very quickly from the e-wallets website using your email id or phone number.
3. You then need to fill in your basic information.
4. The last step is entering your credit or debit card details, account details, etc.
5. The wallet is now ready to be used!

E-wallets are the future. Some day in the near future they are going to replace plastic money. RBI has already provided licenses to many firms to start payments banks. So it is much better to be acquainted with digital wallets and start using it instead of waiting till the time we are forced to migrate to this secure and easy payments system.