Predominance of cash transactions is changing, says Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that with the recent economic reforms that have been implemented, the predominance of cash transactions is changing.

"With such initiatives, a new chapter is being written in the history. There are greater formalisation in the economy. Cash being a predominant mode is changing. We're being nudged into a system where convenience, security and proprietary lie in switching modes of payment. More companies can learn from initiatives like this," he said while inaugurating the Paytm Payments Bank here today.

Paytm Payments Bank, which is a mobile-first bank with zero charges on all online transactions, is designed to help achieve financial inclusion in the country and is in line with Paytm's mission of bringing half a billion Indians on to the mainstream economy.

"India is at a cusp of a financial revolution. The demography and access to financial services will create a ton of jobs in the country and Paytm is very proud to be a part of this financial services revolution. Paytm Payments Bank will work towards creating a massive number of jobs in the long run," said founder and CEO Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

The company has planned an investment of USD 500 million in KYC (Know Your Customer) operations. It is setting up KYC centers across India to complete KYC for customers and make them eligible for a Payments Bank account.