Author: Swagata Mukherjee
Payments made digitally are referred to as digital payments. Both the payer (One who makes the payment) and the payee (One who receives the payment) use digital methods to send and receive money in payments. It is widely known as “electronic payment” and has gained a significant share in transactions especially in India since the year 2019. According to a recent survey,
the value of digital payments in India would increase from their current $3 trillion value to $10 trillion by 2026, indicating a declining use of cash and also indicates that India is among the highest users of Online and Digital Transactions in the world surpassing many countries that have adopted the electronic measures of managing payments years before our country did.
The introduction of numerous new businesses with a variety of offers has benefited the ecosystem for digital payments, encouraging their widespread acceptance. The development of a sizable merchant acceptance network based on QR codes has helped to accelerate the adoption of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) among end users in India. This has been made possible by global and Indian fintech players. User-friendly interfaces, creative products, and an open API environment all contribute to this.
If we talk about how education is leveraging digital payments then we observe that both parents and institutes gain a lot from frictionless digital payments since they make it simple to make payments on time and simplify record keeping.
Does your Institute face anything similar?
- Fee collection strains your staff and resources and it often is a rush to collect the fee and payments on time.
- Excel sheets or inefficient online methods are used to record financial transactions, which is time-consuming and error-prone and also delays the presentation of actual
picture of the institute in terms of collection of Fee. - Invoices, fee reconciliation, and fee calculation all contain human error and often data is not presented on time and goes through multiple iterations before finalizing the same.
- You lack a systematic picture of the fee statuses, including completed payments and unpaid fees that need to be followed up on at a regular basis.
How were the Issues Resolved?
We were all forced indoors by the pandemic, further advancing the Digital Age in our environment. The “new normal” was shaped by the use of online resources by institutes and other educational institutions. To understand and process payments online, we required new tools. These tools helped us outleap the usage of digital transactions or economy in the country and hence proved to be of immense benefits to the users adopting the same in lesser time.
Here we discuss some benefits of digital payment systems in educational institutions:
- On-Time Payment Enablement –
Ensures that fees are paid on time It is customary for some parents to pay their children’s institute fees in the traditional manner many days after the due date. - Practical and Time-Saving – It is practical and saves time for Parents who will choose to visit the institute
and wait in line to pay the tuition when they may do so with just a click of a button. Additionally, parents have access to a number of payment options, such as UPI transfers, smartphone apps, and net banking.
- Cost-effective and Economical – A solid digital payment system is very economical and saves both institutions and parents a lot of money. For educational institutions, it reduces the expenses of ledgers, registers, fee cards, and other paper-based documentation.
- Reduced Fraudulent Practices – Reduces the likelihood of theft or loss for Parents who pay academic fees online, and have the money transferred directly to the institute’s bank account. When compared to any educational institution, a bank’s storage and security mechanisms are much safer.
- Paperless Administration – Aids in office work and paperless administration for institutes using cutting-edge institute management software, several institutes, and educational institutions have eliminated paper from their administrative and office tasks, and many more are aiming to do the same.
- Better Lending and Installment Management – Computerized installment arrangements can offer more prominent benefits for cash than conventional installments. A few institutes offer money back and limits when guardians pay the educational expenses carefully. Some additionally give alluring limits on account of advance or on-time installment of expenses.
Advanced India and computerized installments go together, and this union is affecting each industry fragment be it monetary administrations, education payments, or purchaser markets; meaningfully altering the manner in which individuals live, work, shop, play, and pay. India has the world’s biggest millennial and Gen Z populace, and this youthful section is driving the reception of computerized installments while expecting a frictionless, secure, and quick exchange of insights.
Building a Cashless Institute and Society
Digital and cashless educational institutions are the breeding ground for developing a ‘Digital India’ culture and creating a truly cashless society.
Here’s a look at how it can positively impact an educational institution and its students –
- Cash Management – Online payments provide a seamless process for both parties. This allows students to pay fees at the click of a button and educational institutions to collect their payments directly into their bank accounts through a digital interface. There is a reduction in the administrative coordination needed to manage payments, issue receipts, and collect funds, eliminating any potential human error.
- Hassle-free administration – “Digital Campuses” will provide students with a digital interface to make payments across the campus. Touch points like a library, canteen, and gymnasium will be fully digital allowing institutions to focus only on academics, training, etc.
- Avenue for ‘Financial Prudence – The digital and cashless institute will enable its students to practice smart money management and financial prudence using their smartphones and tablets. Since this important life skill is not taught as part of the academic curriculum, such a pathway is essential for institutes to ensure the overall development of students and create the smart money managers of tomorrow.
- Seamless Communication – In a digitally transformed and connected institute, the administration can seamlessly communicate with a group of students or the entire institute using a digital administration module. Students receive important information through notifications on their mobile phones. This way, institutes can save time, effort, and manpower needed to send out announcements to every class, post information on bulletin boards, or communicate with a specific student through letters or emails.
- Create a great brand – By creating a digital, cashless, and connected ecosystem, institutions can provide an innovative environment and complete learning experience to their students. This leads to the identification, development, and establishment of the branding of the institute.
Conclusion
By creating as many digital and cashless institutes as possible in India, we can create a financially savvy and motivated young India. Reasons why the adoption of digital payments should increase
- Digital payments offer greater convenience as they are faster than traditional payment methods such as cash or cheques. People have no time or location restrictions in case of online payment. They can easily pay anywhere in the world at any time, which often leads to better experiences.
- Digital financial payments also facilitate record keeping and improve the transparency of financial transfers by creating an easily traceable electronic trail that reduces financial leakage.
- The electronic channel also improves and facilitates dispute resolution. The adoption of digital payments should increase in the country as the use of electronic payment systems has many other benefits ranging from faster payments, transparency, greater security, and wider inclusivity to better customers.
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