Is the time ripe for National Mobile Wallet in India?

I think so,  at least following facts  suggest so 

• 980Mn+ mobile users and growing
• 270mn+ internet connections (projected in 2015)
• 350mn+ internet users (projected in 2015)
• 3rd largest Internet user base in the world out of which 50% are mobile-only internet users 

Supported by

• Digital India program by government of India
• Real time payment  settlement infrastructure created by NPCI
• Awareness and user base (100 Mn +)  created by Paytm, Mobikwik, PayZapp, Pockets etc 

(data sourced from internet) 

What is this National wallet concept and  how it will benefit us? 

National wallet is a universal mobile wallet where the core payment infrastructure and user details are maintained by the government agency and enables all government payments (wherever possible) on its network. 

So how will it benefit us?

Simple, it will bring single payment interface at a national scale encompassing all utility services provided by government machinery like train, bus, utility bills, tolls etc 

But will it mean challenge for growth of for mobile wallet service providers like Paytm, Mobikwik  etc? 

In my view, the way NPCI is conceptualizing the UPI (Unified Payments Interface)  infrastructure it will enable all wallet providers and service provider to use the same infrastructure and user will have a choice to pick his preferred wallet provider including government national wallet. So, in turn it will open more avenues of payments  for existing wallet players as well. 

National wallet will not only help in minimizing the cash transactions but also bring more transparency in services and give boost to citizen charter 

Hope to see National wallet becoming a reality soon :)