Uploaded on Jul 22, 2020
The famed British Zoologist Desmond Morris once said something which beautifully sums up the story of current cities across the world. He said, “The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo”. Today, almost 55% of the world population lives in urban cities and this proportion is all set to go as high as 68% by the year 2050.
Why digital payments are important in a smart city?
Why digital payments are important in a smart city? The famed British Zoologist Desmond Morris once said something which beautifully sums up the story of current cities across the world. He said, “The city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo”. Today, almost 55% of the world population lives in urban cities and this proportion is all set to go as high as 68% by the year 2050. What is a smart city? AAcccocordrdiningg t oto W Wikikipipeeddiaia “ A“A s msmaartr tc ictiyty i si s aann u urbrbaann a arereaa t hthaat tu useses sd diffiffeererennt tt ytpypees s oof fe elelectcrtoronnici ci ninteternrneet to of ft hthininggs(sI(oIoTT) ) sesennsosorsr st oto c ocolllelectc td daatata a anndd t htheenn u usese ininsisgighhtst sg againineedd f rforomm t hthaat td daatata t oto mmaannaaggee a asssesetst,s ,r eresosouurcreces sa anndd s eservrivcieces s eeffifficiceienntltyl,y ,in in r eretuturnrn u usisningg t hthaat td daatata t oto bbeetttteer ri mimpproroveve t hthee o oppeeraratitioonns sa acrcorosss s ththee c ictiyt.y. This includes data collected from citizens, Tdheisv iincecslu, dbeusil ddiantgas c aonllde catsesde tfsro tmha ct iitisz ens, In a nutshell, it’s an attempt to procdeesvseicde sa,n bdu ailndainlygzse adn tdo amssoentist othr aatn ids leveIrna gae n cuutttishnegll-,e idt’gs ea nte actthneomlopgt iteos manpargoec etsraseffidc a anndd a tnraanlyszpeodr ttaoti mono nsyitsotre mansd, leverage cutting-ed manage and tools like AI, I goeT ,t edcighintaoll ogies power tprlaaffintcs ,a untidl ittiraens,s pwoarttearti sounp spylyst ems, paanydm teonotlss, liinkefo ArmI, aIotiTo, nd i&gi tal netpwoowrekrs ,p wlaansttse, umtialnitiaegse, mweantet,r csruimppel y payments, information & detencetitwono,r iknsf,o wrmasattie omna sn communication technology (ICT), yastgeemmse, nstc,h coroimlse, comm detection, information systems, schools, etc. to op utinmicaiztieo tnh tee ccihtyn ofulongcyti (oInCsT ), libraries, hospitals, and other community etc. to optimize the city functions libraries, hospistearlsv,i caensd. other community and to drive economic growth. services. and to drive economic growth. 3 What is the role of payments in a smart city? Payments are a significant component of smart cities since it features in the majority of basic services offered to the citizens. All these services form the core of the economic activity which includes business procurement, salaries, consumer spending, and tax collection. Nowadays, more and more cities are realizing the significance of smart payment technology which plays a crucial role in achieving the vision of a smart city. Digital payments can play a major role in improving the payments ecosystem across departments with various use cases that can cover multiple C2G (Citizen to Government payments) like electricity, toll & transit, taxi, water, education, tourists places, social services, healthcare, CFC centres, penalties, and public convenience. Similarly, it can also cover multiple G2C (Government to Citizen) payments like monetary awards, senior citizens benefit, subsidies, and scholarships. These use cases ensure enhanced efficiency and security by reducing the dependency on cash. Challenges Internal challenges associated with digital The current infrastructure in the government bodies of many developing nations for collections payments in and payments is mainly focused on cheque and cash thus making it inadequately equipped for accepting digital payments. smart cities Digitizing existing data records is a challenge in External challenges itself which is made tougher via siloed businesses and with the limited information sharing across channels, divisions, and departments. Low internet connectivity, penetration, and poor The absence of a unified strategic infrastructure is adversely affecting vision is causing the payments the digitization effort to be less effective. customer experience for online tra nsactions Due to inadeq.uate training of operational staff to manage seamless delivery of payment services and handling customers with special needs have resulted in customers having low trust in digital or technology-based payments. Digital payment use cases in smart cities Many corporations around the world are now looking to establish a sustainable cashless ecosystem. HowLeovrerm, a sip wseu malready discussed there are few major challenges that can prove to be a major roadblock. These roadblocks can be eliminated by boosting the adoption of digital payments. Below are a few examples in the form of the use cases as to how you can overcome these roadblocks. Direct benefits One city – one transfer based on card Aadhaar Few municipal One city – one card corporations in India have system is based on the begun to transfer various idea in which the benefits to their citizens, Citizen citizens can use a school children, and Doorstep facilitation prepaid card to make corporation staff on the centre solutions payments across basis of their Aadhaar multiple services like Many corporations (which is an identification Few of the government-owned around the world are now and authentication corporations have taking firm steps towards number in India) loaded started doorstep activities, municipal digitizing their ward on a prepaid card. services for tax taxes, transport, and offices. Not only this, collection, where an many more. web-based payments, officer digitally mobile apps, and POS collects the tax at the terminals have been citizen’s doorsteps at deployed by these corporations to make tax the time and date collection cashless. selected by the citizens themselves. Unified payments What are the instrument emerging digital payment solutions for A digital payment mode which is common for making payments at smart cities? all public transport like local trains, metros, and buses. The above mentioned are not the only use-cases of digital payments in smart Health card which enables cities. Digital payments have a massive citizens to access free potential that smart cities can leverage medical benefits without from. In fact, there are many emerging facing any hassles. digital payment solution and initiatives for smart cities. Let’s have a look at few A common instrument that can be of those: leveraged to transfer benefits to women, school children, others for welfare schemes. THANK YOU
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