Going digital
I resented the way digital payments were thrust on us six months ago (still do). And so, I refused to use Paytm and its ilk for a few months, though I generally like trying out new tech stuff. Over the months though, I gave into temptation, and at the first opportunity, tried out Paytm — to pay for a ball of string! I now am on the lookout for opportunities all the time; parking tickets, groceries and the like.
I do believe that digital payments are more secure than card payments (even with a chip). I use an iOS device with touch ID and that gives me an additional layer of security.
Aadhar
I have a similar love-hate relationship with Aadhar. Many people have identified privacy issues with Aadhar and the way it has been implemented. The government playing fast and loose with the Supreme Court does not inspire confidence that such concerns will be assuaged any time soon. My sons’ schools have asked for aadhar — including facilitating the process by setting up a temporary kiosk — as the government insisted they submit aadhar numbers for all their students.
Even if Aadhar is secure, there are so many ways it connects with unsecure systems that hackers can siphon off valuable — irreplaceable — data like biometrics. It has happened before, in the Philippines.
And yet I really love the convenience it affords. I needed to setup a SIP for a tax-saving fund and I could FINALLY do it completely online — no print-outs whatsoever — thanks to Aadhar, in 20 minutes. This is the sort of thing for which I would pay 1% commission — lifelong — to agents because the paper work was just too cumbersome and painful. As far as I can see, even the national pension scheme (NPS) Tier-1 (if you don’t have an account, you MUST) can now be done completely online, without any print-outs and mailing, if you have Aadhar. I mean, this is 2017.
And as ever, we find ourselves walking the thin edge of the knife; liking the thrill of the new ride in the park, while looking down warily at the tangle of cables and garbage below.
