Smartphone penetration in India has led to the successful adoption of technology among all demographic segments. Smartphone adoption, followed by affordable internet, opened the doors for many technologies and applications to disseminate among various segments. Mobile wallets also piggyback on the penetration of mobile phones and the Internet, providing wonderful opportunities for hawkers to manage their payments. Mobile wallets are like physical wallets and are one of the latest innovations with considerable potential which has been adopted by all. Ease of use, trialability, and relative advantage are a few factors leading to hawkers' adoption. The present chapter will try to unlock the factors that fuel mobile wallet adoption.
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India’s cashless payment market is expected to more than triple from US$ 3 trillion to US$ 10 trillion by 2026. As a result, non-cash payments will consist of 65% of all payments done in India (BCG,2022). The volume of India’s digital payments has grown tenfold over the last five years and is expected to grow by thirty-five percent in the coming five years (Mckinsey,2023). Most of this growth is due to cash displacement and the acceptance of mobile wallets as a cashless option among all segments of the population. In payments revenue generation, India is ahead of mature economies like the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Italy, due credit to digital payment penetration in the country.
Digital payments are driving a transformation away from traditional cash transactions in many countries. In recent years customers have evolved as technology has given them many options do payments. Rather than simply being dependent upon credit or cash systems now customers are making payments through different types of payment systems. Cashless payment systems are replacing physical currency all around the world (Munikrishnan et al., 2024). The customer does need not to carry physical cash or credit cards all the time, a more convenient way is to pay through mobile wallets (Qingqing & Fangming, 2024). This also has put pressure on hawkers to adopt new-age payment systems to receive payments from customers. The proliferation of mobile phones and the internet in India makes it easier for hawkers to adopt technology-based payment systems. Mobile wallets are one such technology which has been adopted by most hawkers in India.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of mobile wallets in India, particularly among small hawkers and low-income groups. While the adoption of mobile wallets in the pre-pandemic scenario depended upon readiness to accept innovation, in the post-pandemic scenario it is a need of hour (Baxi et al., 2024). Further adoption of mobile wallets has become an important factor for business growth for hawkers.
In India, street vendors are known as hawkers, they constitute a major part of the unceremonious urban inhabitants and often offer various services and a variety of goods at public places i.e. open informal markets, streets and pathways (Dhar et al., 2024). Hawking creates opportunities for entrepreneurship and self-employment for the poor. There are more than 10 million hawkers present in India (Biswas & Mondal, 2021). These hawkers quickly respond to the changing financial scenario and drive mobile wallets into the informal sector.
The increase in penetration of mobile telephony and the internet has offered mobile payment options all around the World (Al-Okaily et al., 2024). Mobile wallet infrastructure in India is wide and interoperable which is driving the growth of acceptance of digital wallets. The major concern with financial interaction is the online experience to complete the process of financial transactions. To complete the process hawkers, go through the range of financial risks which are associated with accepting payments, moving funds, and monitoring balances (Bhambri,2024). Although mobile wallet operators track all major concerns about its acceptance and address both operational gaps and psychological gaps (Mir et al., 2023).