An Introduction to Popular Digital Payment Platforms

Digital Payment – Useful System of Transaction

The digital payment platforms have now become the most useful system of transaction in the Indian economy, particularly post demonetisation. When the announcement of doing away of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes had been made by the government, people had to move to digital payment method in a hurry for daily requirement on daily living for making payments on shopping to the payment of bills as well as to send funds to their family members. This situation had created a huge chaos among the citizens driving them to frustration.

The digital payment method though well-known now has its quotient of advantages and disadvantage. Its main benefit is the convenience of digital platform which can be utilised with ease. With several of the merchants now accepting the digital payment method, it gets easier in making transaction for, sending and receiving money in the digital mode.

The government is also encouraging such platforms with exemption from service tax when digital payment is done up to Rs. 2000 and 0.75% discount on fuel transactions. Moreover, users also benefit with referral bonus and cashback to merchants who tend to utilise the UPI platform BHIM by the National Payments Corporation of India.

Utilise – Safe Manner

Though digital payment is well known, it is essential that the same should be utilised with caution. Users need to know how to utilise the digital manner is a safe manner. Users could also get mixed up in choosing from the several digital system of payment in the market since there are many options to choose from. Some of the well-known digital modes of payments are mentioned below for ready reference:

UPI

Unified Payment Interface – UPI assists in sending and receiving money directly to one’s bank account. It enables the transfer of funds on utilising the UPI ID or the account numbers. Several popular UPI apps like BHIM, SBI UPI, HDFC, UPI, Tez, iMobile apps and much more are available in the market.

E-Wallets

E-wallets were beneficial when demonetisation had come up and the ATMs were not functioning. Since then people opted for it as a part of their daily activity. E-wallets can be utilised in the payment of utility bills, payment to be done at local stores, in sending and receiving money anywhere etc. Users need to be aware that KYC is compulsory in utilising e-wallets according to the instructions of RBI

Aadhaar Enabled Payment Service -AEPS

AEPS is said to be a digital paymentsystem that utilises the Aadhar number while paying the creditors. AEPS, unlike the other types of payment charges for the transactions that are made by the user or on behalf of the user. It tends to use your fingerprint as a password and the need of a signature is not essential, or an account number or any alphabetic or numeric password. It can be utilised in making interbank transfers also.

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data – USSD

USSD is unlike the other types since the use of internet is not needed. Users can check into their account send money or even alter MPIN with only a feature phone known as *99# since it utilises *99# as its code for transactions. Rs 5000, is the limit for each individual on the platform where a maximum charge of Rs 2.5 is charged for each transaction.

GST, demonetisation having desired impact?

GST/Demonetisation/Swachha Bharat – Anticipated Influence
 
According to Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, the initiatives of the Modi government such as Swachh Bharat, Goods and Services Tax – GST, together with the demonetisation seems to be having the anticipated influence wherein GST and demonetisation have been causing increasing tax amenability and pressing significant of cash in the economy. Jaitley in his key note speech through video conference to the Berkeley India Conference had stated that public support to the reforms has been undertaken by the governments of the day at the centre as well as the state levels. He commented that he expects India would be capable of retaining its growth rate and live up to the aspiration of its people since it must not be overlooked that they not only belong to a huge population to service but have a very young population to service. He had informed that if India has to accept a challenge for moving into a higher economic group country, in the next one or two decades, the need to grow was essential at a much faster pace. In response to a query, Jaitley had contested that the transformation initiatives such as Swachh Bharat, GST together with demonetisation has not been the cause of any alterations on the ground.
 
Short-Term/Long-Term Impact
 
The finance minister was questioned as to `would you say there are long term benefits and the country would have to wait for those? Or is there any way to mitigate the issue being faced by the country?’ He debated that a much more serious analysis would be portrayed that even in the matter of months would show a short term positive impact on most of these projects. Though demonetisation as well as GST have been showing the desired impacts with regards to tax compliances and pressing the significant of cash in the economy, Jaitley for the first time had stated that Swachha Bharat campaign had brought to the forefront the importance of sanitation as well as cleanliness. H informed that adequate progress has been done considering sanitation and cleanliness for the first time in Indian history which has become the centre stage agenda and is making headway. The campaign of GST and demonetisation is said to be having short term as well as long-term impact.
 
Shake the System
 
Jaitley has informed that the campaign has become way beyond the administrative program and is a mass movement. He further stated that before demonetisation, Indian normal was to live with a high cash economy and not paying taxes, `you purchase a property, transact partially in cash and in business you maintain two sets of accounts. He debates on how could a country aiming to be the fastest growing major economy in the world, that aspires to grow from a developing to a developed economy continue with the normal of this kind. His observation was that one needs to shake the system in order to decrease the quantum of cash in India and hence apparently make it a more tax complaint society. Jaitley had commented that there has been sharp reduction in insurgent as well as terror activities in states such as Jammu and Kashmir as well as Chhattisgarh, in the instant repercussion of demonetisation.

3 Months with GST -Where does India Stand Today

GST – Non-Debatable Fact

GST, the largest tax reform in the country post-Independence, is presently the non-debatable fact wherein the main advantage that have been enhanced are the incorporating of various state together with central-level taxes in organization, simplification of compliances, continuous flow of Input Tax credits together with alleviation of surging effect of taxation and probable decrease in tax rates for the majority of goods and services.

GST has been considered as not merely a tax reform but something which is much more as a technological reform and GST with GSTN has been received as a different perspective of working of government portals. GSTN had introduced open-headed architecture thus empowering circulated flow of returns as well as improvements from private sectors.

The chairman of GSTN had quoted hat while the filing due dates for GSTR-3B, would be about 80,000 returns filed onto the GSTN portal and with these vast reform in carrying out, the challenges in its roll-out together with implementation would definitely be there. GST encountered some challenges with the infrastructure and awareness with the pre-fixed due dates in July. In order to bring about the awareness on GST in the industry, the government together

with the CBEC had proactively engaged for level transition in GST.
 

Supported with Workshops

 
The concerns of agreements with regards to Indian business had been talked with the support of workshops, GST awareness programmes, Seva Kendra, CBEC Mitra Helpdesk together with various other initiatives. The GST Portal with the provision of interactive and user friendly website has offered comprehensive user manuals, FAQs in order to make the tax payers familiar with every related compliances and returns, related to GST.

Besides this, tax payers are also made aware on the important announcements together with the activities with provisions of their queries being resolved through the official social media channels. The last few months also showed the overflow of queries from the traders as well as manufacturers on the stock in position with them from the pre-GST period while some of the queries were on the transitional credits. The government, in the midst of all these queries and chaos, had come up with strong explanations on these queries. Moreover they had also bestowed the tax payer with a choice of carrying forward tax or duty on any prevailing law or on goods that were in stock as on 30th June 2017 to GST via the transitional forms.
 

One Time Revision

 
Due date for filing of TRAN 1 had been extended to 31st October 2017. Besides this the tax payers had also been provided with a choice of a onetime revision to this type of return should any errors or omissions arise. GST is said to strengthen tax compliance through reconciliation as well as authentication of invoices thereby reducing the likelihood of back-dating invoices and deceitful tax credits. The lower tax burden along with Input Tax Credit is said to be alleged in reducing the cost of materials as well as logistics thereby enhancing the economy. The operational implementation of GST now depends on the precision of Invoices.

However it was seen that businesses had been modifying their Invoice formats to accommodate with GST, the registration under GST that had been made completely digital and transparent, was also considered. Around 7 million businesses had migrated to GST with the addition of another 2.5 million renewed registrations. Though GSTN has been permitted through its portal, the amendment in core as well as non-core fields filled in by the registered companies, cancellation of registration for these units freely registered under GST tends to be one-sided questions.
 

Extension of Due Dates – Confusion with Tax Payers

 
The government has provided extensive support for the extension of due dates but these extensions of due dates over and over again has also brought about confusion with the Tax payers of the due dates against the month wherein the returns need to be filed. Due date for July had been extended till 10th, 31st October and November 10th respectively to permit the tax payers in filing their returns without much trouble.

 Presently 50 lakh tax payers had filed in July GSTR 3B and about 31 lakh had filed July GSTR 1 and 24.33 crores invoices had been uploaded in the GSTN Portal. In order to make provision to this extensive filing mechanism, it is obvious that GSTN needs additional few months to settle the same. But the main test for GSTN would be the filings for GSTR-2A where several challenges will be seen with the pull and push of data for the purpose of filings.

A recently held 22nd Council Meeting of GST had been programmed on the completion of three months of GST which brought about various relaxation filled for the tax payers. This type of relaxation would definitely be a comfortable move of the Government which would also make the campaign with the provision of GST as a Good and Simple tax.

Interesting Tips for Protecting Your Assets

No one wants to see all of their hard work collapse due to unfortunate circumstances. Regardless of whether you own your own business or are simply a hard worker just trying to make a living, you probably have something that you want to protect in the event of an emergency. No one deserves to see all of their hard work turn into nothing, and that's exactly what this guide hopes to avoid. With that in mind, here's a quick look at a few interesting ways for people to ensure that their family is insulated from any financially damaging circumstances.

Cryptocurrency

Although it's quickly becoming a hot topic in the news, the reality is that cryptocurrencies have grown considerably in popularity over the past few years. With new markets emerging constantly, there's never been a better time to get involved in the industry. Unlike traditional banking institutions, cryptocurrency provides a speculative market for investors that don't want to worry about their money disappearing due to bad decisions from someone else. Instead, the cryptocurrency market is truly built on the enthusiasm of its investors and can provide a much more stable alternative to traditional currency investments.

Insurance Policies 

Although it may seem strange to think about, guaranteed acceptance term life insurance can be an effective means of protecting your family in the event of an untimely accident. By finding the policy that's right for you, you can invest into it without worrying about it backfiring and leaving your family to foot the bill. Instead, you can rest easy knowing that your policy will keep them taken care of well after you've moved on. In addition to giving you peace of mind, an effective insurance policy can also help you to keep track of your assets, so that you'll be more conscious of what you're leaving behind in the future. If you haven't already invested in a life insurance policy, then you might want to consider doing so before your family really needs one.

While these are just a few ways to protect your assets in the event of an emergency, this list is by no means exhaustive. Hopefully though, by following along with this guide, you've been inspired to come up with some new ideas of your own. In the end, there's more to life than just hoarding money, but that doesn't mean you should leave your family to fend for themselves after you've passed on.

Estonia's Crypto Currency Concept

Estcoins – e-residency Scheme

The anticipation with regards to Estonia’s crypto-currency existing online which are not controlled by any central bank or government has gained new heights since the value of bitcoin had reached above $4,000 (£3,100). Estonia desires to issue its own virtual currency with the support of Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.

Estonia which is a country that takes pride on being at the cutting edge of digital technology has been speculating with the idea of a currency known as estcoins which would be connected to its successful e-residency scheme giving foreigners with an opportunity of starting business in the digital identity of Estonia.

The same had been successful wherein Kaspar Korjus Managing director at e-Residency, Enterprise, Estonia and the one in charge of the scheme had disclosed recently that the numbers signing up had crossed the birth-rate of Estonia.

He wished to take advantage of this opportunity of interest by providing e-residents digital tokens which could be utilised when they would access several services or engage in transfers between businesses. He acknowledged that this seems to be a fantastic idea and that it would involve discussions with all kinds of government bodies.

He was of the opinion that the central bank of Estonia could be doubtful with regards to having a complete new currency running beside the euro.
 

Evade Tax/Money Laundering

 
The supporters of crypto-currency could also be cautious of a scheme which tends to run counter to the entire liberal character behind bitcoin together with its followers. Mr Korjus however informs that the government cannot only sit back and watch the new financial technology being implemented. On the contrary rather than attempting in stopping things as usual, government needs to explore ways of regulating and improving systems which would work and which individuals would prefer.

One of the reasons for bringing it in was that crypto-currency can be utilised in evading tax or for money laundering. By securing estcoins to a digital identity, Estonia expects to avoid that issue. Recently, Izabella Kaminska, the special guest of the Financial Times had pointed out that this did not sound different from conventional currency and what would be the need of reinventing the wheel.

The crypto-currency would be launched through the version of crowdfunding of digital coin community which is an initial coin offering – ICO that permits start-ups in raising funds by selling off cryptocoins like bitcoins and ether in exchange for cash. They are said to be identical to initial public offerings – IPOs though tend to differ wherein in dealing with supporters of a project they make the investment more personal.
 

E-Residency Ecosystem – Generating Strong Incentive Alignment

 
The small eastern country is not new to the digital innovation and had been the first country in offering citizens of the world `e-residency’ which is a digital ID for non-Estonians with the provision of access to services such as banking, payment processing together with taxation.

Korjus had mentioned in a blog post that `a government-supported ICO would be giving more people with a bigger stake in the future of the country providing not just investment but also more expertise together with ideas in assisting them to grow exponentially’. Korjus had informed that Vitalik Buterin the founder of the blockchain network Ethereum in 2014, is a strong supporter of the digital innovation of Estonia and has offered feedback on its estcoin proposal.

Buterin had mentioned that `an ICO within the e-residency ecosystem would be generating strong incentive alignment between e-residents and this fund as well as beyond the economic aspects, would make the e-residents feel more of a community as there are more things they could perform together’.
 

Easy & Convenient for Use

 
Buterin had also mentioned in his blog post that besides this, if the crypto-currency is allotted on top of a blockchain, they would probably be issued in numerous formats at the same time, and nothing would be erroneous with this. It would then be easy as well as convenient in utilising them within smart contracts together with the other applications.

Blockchains are said to be distributed legers which tend to function as the foundation for digital coin business deal. Korjus had mentioned that over 22,000 e-residents from `138 countries had signed up for the initiative making a huge contribution to the economy of Estonia.

The President of Estonian, Kersti Kaljulaid, last month had informed that her nation had been the only truly digital society, strengthened by the state. She had mentioned in an article for the Telegraph that nearly all the interactions of the citizens with the government, inclusive of voting could be done securely online and that their e-residents could incorporate as well as run their businesses in Estonia without the need of having to set foot there. She further added that seeing this digital revolution up close has made her query whether the state that they know today is fit for the 21st century.