Asia is booming, and it is India and China that are driving its growth. During the recession, we expect our economy to grow at least 6%. Jobs have started to return to the market. At a time when people in other countries are moving from sedans to hatchbacks, Audi, BMW and RR are recording 100% growth in India.
CEOs feel silly not to be in Asia right now. The Elephant and the Dragon are back with a vengeance. Local CEOs are king now, we run the world cricket market, Manchester United are looking for some Indian sponsor, F1 has a new fan club now… and we see all of this during the time when the whole world is witnessing the recession. This is known as an elephant ride. No patriotic person would like to see the end of this period.
But anti-national elements continue to work on their mission to destabilize our growth plans and cripple our economy. The easiest way to hamper a country’s economy is by circulating counterfeit currency on the market. There are many cases in which our intelligence teams have denounced this type of incident in the country. We keep inventing and implementing methods to identify counterfeit bills, but is it really easy to spot a counterfeit bill in a stack of bills? How can we stop this counterfeit currency? How can we ensure the progress of our savings? How can we use technology to make this happen?
There was a time when our great-grandparents transacted by exchanging goods in a barter system. I believe that this was the safest way to transact, since the products in exchange had their own value. A currency note has its own underlying value according to the gold set aside against it (or crude oil in the case of the US dollar). But a counterfeit note with zero underlying value can destroy the entire financial model of a country. We have addressed these problems by developing machines that can identify counterfeit bills, but is there a way to stop this problem at its root?
Don’t you think that plastic money has helped to control it to some extent? Is plastic money about making our lives easier or can it be used to help our nation fight anti-national activities? Imagine if we can minimize the use of real currency, paying with our card for almost all of our transactions, and the Merchant charges the original bank currency (assuming banks provide verified notes to the consumer).
But then it is really difficult and inconvenient to swipe your visa card every time you shop, eat or travel.
Technology in Rescue…
Technology is about making our everyday lives easy and safe. We use credit/debit card only to avoid cash transactions. Now let’s all start using the innovative CashCard to help our nation grow strong and robust while also making our lives easier.
CashCard is similar to our credit/debit card but the difference lies in the content of the card. This card ‘stores’ the amount; therefore it has its own value. We will be able to use this card in POS that will not be connected to any Mainframe network. How can technology help point of sale reach every corner of the world? How can everyone start using CashCard for transactions? Do we always need a telephone/internet cable to carry out a card transaction? Not really. A custom POS machine can do this for us. The job of this POS machine is to read the data present on a CashCard and deduct the amount loaded from the card. At the end of the entire process, the POS saves the amount on its removable data card. The amount present on the POS data card is the total revenue generated at the end of the day.
At the end of the day or week, the Merchant presents this memory card at the nearest bank branch or any authorized establishment to withdraw their cash free of charge. Yes, there should be no charge to redeem the data card, which promotes secure transactions. Charging small merchants for small transactions may hinder the growth of this technology.
So all we need in a CashCard reader machine (a simpler version of POS) is a memory card reader and a memory card, which should make the cost of this POS really affordable. The advancement in technology and the business model used will make it profitable so that every little transaction is feasible through POS. Making the POS wireless or away from any kind of network will make it feasible to transport it on public transportation and also in remote areas.
The CashCard will contain the amount you have on it and your security PIN. The first time that this card is issued to us by the bank, we will be asked to select the PIN that we need as a protection password. The PIN is actually stored on the card itself in an encrypted format. The moment we swipe/insert this card into a POS, the machine will read the amount present on the CashCard once the correct PIN is entered. This is somewhat similar to viewing images from your digital camera’s data card. The numbers present on the card will represent the amount of the card and the special characters will represent the PIN. When we enter the PIN, the software present at the POS will convert the entered numbers to an encrypted format that will match the special character on the card, thus authenticating your card without being on the network. Next, enter the amount to be paid for the transaction, which will be added to the POS data card and deducted from your CashCard. Ultimately, the POS owner can redeem their memory card at an ATM or the nearest available bank. This will complete the entire transaction. Your own card acts as a server for this technology. When you run out of cash on your CashCard, all you need to do is go to an ATM and reload your card with the cash in your checking/savings account. The card can also be reloaded online or through its mobile banking feature.
Imagine the convenience achieved through this, no more fighting to get the correct change to pay your bills, no worries about losing your cash as the card is PIN protected, all the features we get from our debit card /credit today can be incorporated into this card in a much safer way and we will certainly be able to reduce the loss of currency.
Advantages of this Technology:
There are many advantages to this technology other than safeguarding our currency. VAT, which was charged some time ago, will now be more transparent. As the POS will be issued to a merchant based UID or PAN card. Hence the government. You can track the income generated by a person during a particular year. Collecting taxes will be easier.
The advantages of this technology can be immense, not only in urban areas but also in rural areas. We can use these cards to buy our movie/bus/train tickets on the go; in fact paying our nearest supermarket/auto rickshaw fare by card is the best convenience I can think of. In rural areas, where as a result of Financial Exclusion the penetration of banking services is almost insignificant; this CashCard can make a big difference for the poor. Farmers can get their loan amount on this card and can pay their medical, insurance and other expenses using this card at an ATM, while keeping their savings account at a branch in a distant city. All banks should drive financial inclusion by opening small outlets/ATMs in remote areas that will provide top-ups and other banking facilities using this technology.
Certainly, we cannot replace the use of hard currency, but by incorporating a currency detector inside ATMs, it can be controlled.
Business Model for the Bank:
If banks charge a small annual maintenance/issuance fee to the customer, it should be enough with the expenses incurred by the bank to implement this technology. The revenue generated from these long-term annual charges can certainly be decent for banks.
Resume:
For our economy to be strong, we must stop currency confiscation. Technology can contribute to this through the innovative CashCard and personalized POS. This will make transactions safe and comfortable.