Opinion | Cybersecurity a critical challenge for india’s digital payments ecosys

Demonetization resulted in the withdrawal of 86% of India’s total currency value in circulation, leading to an enormous increase in the adoption and dependence on digital payments. Three years on, digital payments in India are witnessing consistent growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7%, while the mobile wallet market is expected to continuously grow at a CAGR of 52.2% by volume between 2019-23, according to a recent report by KPMG. This digital explosion can be seen in the accelerating rise in the download and use of electronic wallets as well as an unprecedented increase in digital transactions/payments.

While becoming a cashless economy is the end-goal, it is important to understand that the sudden push to ‘go digital’ may test the existing security and fraud control frameworks extensively. India’s status as a digital economy is at a very nascent stage and will evolve and innovate drastically in the coming years, especially with the increased convergence of sectors such as financial services, telecom, and information technology.