Electronic payment for services tripled during quarantine

In the last two weeks, the payment of service bills by electronic channel tripled in relation to the usual average of a fortnight in January and February. It is one of the new behaviors that preventive and compulsory social isolation generates and that will end, at least in this area, generating a new payment culture in Argentina, historically tied to cash.

It is the record that, in this scenario, was taken by the digital financial services company MONI, which reported that the payment of services channeled through its virtual wallet had telephony and the Internet as the provision that was most canceled by this route, with 37% participation in the total amount paid.

In order, followed by pay TV, with 21%, payment for purchases, with 19% of measured services. Much further back were those essential, more traditional benefits, such as electricity, which represented 7%; water, with 4% and national, provincial and municipal taxes with a little 3 percent.

A photo that shows everything that must still be worked on by these companies to motivate their users to pay for new electronic channels, beyond the fact that some of the clients usually opt for automatic debit to avoid delays.

To complete 100% of the cake of electronic payments that were made through Moni’s virtual wallet, 9% was distributed between expenses, fees from schools, clubs, savings plans and security services.

“Just as teleworking and the digital transformation of companies are having a tremendous boost, as a result of the sanitary measures being taken around the world to control the pandemic, digital payments and the use of online platforms to access financial services and transactions that until not long ago were carried out mainly with cash and in person, are having exponential growth from mandatory preventive isolation, “said Juan Pablo Bruzzo, CEO of MONI.

That the public and essential services, such as those described, and other types of payments can be channeled through the different alternatives existing in the country, has a deeper impact than just paying for them through a more efficient channel.

In the vision of this company, whose first service was to provide low-amount loans through cell phones, Argentina has a unique opportunity to accelerate the process of adopting these innovative tools that imply less circulation and use of cash and its consequent benefits in terms of safety, tax impact and practicality.

Paying taxes and services through transfers, credit and debit cards and QR codes gives the country a unique opportunity to accelerate the process of adopting these innovative tools that imply less circulation and use of cash and their consequent benefits in terms security, fiscal impact and practicality.

“Although for some time we have been seeing a sustained month-to-month growth in digital transfers and payments, this growth has not yet managed to break the cultural dynamic that makes Argentines continue to manage mostly with cash for their daily operations. The situation Exceptional as a result of widespread preventive isolation and the restriction of face-to-face options are being a catalyst that will undoubtedly accelerate the process of adopting digital financial tools, “Bruzzo concluded.

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