A quarter refrain from making payments online for fear of fraud payments and an overwhelming 88 per cent Indians are concerned about the security of online financial, says a survey done by prepaid e-commerce firm ValuAccess.
The survey that covered 3,200 buyers said 47 per cent use their credit card as the preferred mode for payment followed by 34 per cent for cash on delivery and 17 per cent through net banking.
Over 60 per cent of the respondents were below 30 years of age and 72 per cent of them were male. Movie tickets and electronics and gadgets was what they bought most online.
“The challenge that ecommerce firms face in India is of secure payment options online. Consumers are anxious they may become victims of fraud if they use their credit or debit card online. It’s a unique issue that we are witnessing in China as well,” says Alistair Gordon, Founder and CEO, ValuAccess.
“A large number of buyers in India prefer cash on delivery method, which has a high rate of rejection….the customer may not be at home or he may not have enough cash at that point of time when the delivery guy arrives. It is not good for the seller as it means higher cost.”
Over 10 per cent of the respondents were below the age of 18, the minimum age in India to acquire a credit card.
There are over 461 million active debit and credit cards in India but the country has one of the lowest card per transaction ratio of 0.1 per month. Effectively, only 1 out of 10 cards is used for an online transaction in a month.
“The fear of it being misused or somebody hacking into the system is a major worry. That is why prepaid cards have a future here,” says Gordon.
