COVID-19 – A catalyst for ushering M-wallet growth in India

Digital payments in finance is equally important to invention of wheel was for transport. Digital payments in India are expected to grow over three-folds to Rs 7,092 trillion by 2025 on account of government policies around financial inclusion and growing digitisation of merchants, according to a research report. The country's digital payment market was worth around Rs 2,162 trillion in 2019-20.The current 160 million unique mobile payment users will multiply by 5 times to reach nearly 800 million by 2025. According to the report, wallets will continue to play a key role in its growth with the continuous increase in both frequency and user base. "COVID-19 seems like another demonetisation-like catalyst for the industry. Digital payment providers have been quite hands-on in terms of responding to this situation, by offering enhanced support on essentials such as offering groceries, masks, sanitisers, COVID-19 insurance, offering integration with donations to PM fund and other essential product and services. The present study is an attempt to highlight the scope of growth of MWallets in the current economic scenario of India along with comparing the basic competitive features of M Wallet players specifically focusing on ease of operation and cost incurred for the consumers. It is felt that there is a need for technological advancement by the m-wallet companies which would ultimately result in reduction in transaction cost and expansion in user base and hence revenue.


Literature Review
in his study on globalization of credit card usage measured the attitude of Turkish consumers towards credit cards, and the approach of card issuers.
The most significant reasons for using a credit card emerged as case of payment and risk of carrying cash.
Non holders do not carry credit cards due to lack of information about it; informal sources of information appear to be more influential than mass media advertising in penetrating the market. Mathur and George (1994)  in the level of socio-economic progress the acceptance of credit cards and usage has increased like anything.

Problem Statement and Research Gap
Within the last decade or so, world has become rapidly more digitized. For example, we now have internet purchases, and social interactions made via short message service (SMS), e-mails and social networks on the Internet. Two important factors contributing to the development are the use of mobile phones, and the use of the Internet. We are more 'on the go' than ever and get things done while we are on the go through digital services turning the world to a mobile village.
Thus, there is a requirement to promote electronic wallet more than ever, an e-wallet, with which mobile payments can be made even in remote areas of the country. It is therefore relevant to pay attention towards mobile payment option as cashless payment. It is recognized that the lack of awareness and consumer confidence in digital payments is a gap that needs to be addressed. • To study the comparative strategies adopted by players in order to scale up their ventures.

Objectives
• To offer recommendations and suggestions for implementation.

Mobile-Wallet
A mobile wallet is something one carries with physical entity in our hand, and means of carrying account or card information on personal devices or mobile devices. Instead of using physical plastic card to make purchases, payment can be done with Smartphone, tablet, or smart watch. Mobile wallets provide an easy way out for user to make in-store payments and can be used at merchants listed with the mobile wallet service provider. The technology savvy era presented a world where business-consumer relationship is summarily becoming digital. From e-commerce platforms to roboadvisors to the advent of smartphones, businesses are transforming the way they operate to meet the everchanging requirements of their clients. One area of the financial industry that is rife with innovations is the payment sector. 2) Citi MasterPass: Citi MasterPass, a free digital wallet, helps make checking out while online shopping a speedier process.
Once you've stored all payment and shipping details in your Citi Wallet, simply click on the MasterPass button and it will take care of the rest. Mobikwik is a Gurgaon based e-wallet payment system in India that helps its users store their money.

Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has instilled a fear in everyone's mind regarding cash handling. Everyone is avoiding the use of cash during the pandemic. At the same time, the value proposition of a mobile wallet is not about payment, but the value-added services that can be offered across a mobile-enabled environment.
No one wants to be left behind in the race of acquiring and retaining customer and in a competitive environment; all are providing attractive offers and discounts. The question arises that whether the strategy is justifiable or long lasting for customer acquisition/retention. The industry of mobile wallet has made too many promises on the outside, resulting in inflation of many public companies' valuations.
With so many players in the market, how will they continue to attract new customers? How customer loyalty will be ensured? Will customers use platform in the absence of offers/discounts? How long will it take for the business to move from push to pull?