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(39994, 12, '2019-01-15 10:24:56', '2019-01-15 10:24:56', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"CONCLUSION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Credit can potentially act as a hook for usage of digital solutions, provided the effective costs are lower compared to credit from informal sources, and access is speedier. Merchants also need to be provided information on the clear pathway on increase in credit as they continue using the digital facilities. Lenders and payment service providers must present a unified front and offer a superior customer experience to the merchants. Lastly, acceptance of new payment solutions requires end customers to be sensitized equally[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:24:56', '2019-01-15 10:24:56', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(39995, 12, '2019-01-15 10:25:41', '2019-01-15 10:25:41', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"CONCLUSION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Credit can potentially act as a hook for usage of digital solutions, provided the effective costs are lower compared to credit from informal sources, and access is speedier. Merchants also need to be provided information on the clear pathway on increase in credit as they continue using the digital facilities. Lenders and payment service providers must present a unified front and offer a superior customer experience to the merchants. Lastly, acceptance of new payment solutions requires end customers to be sensitized equally[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:25:41', '2019-01-15 10:25:41', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(39996, 12, '2019-01-15 10:26:45', '2019-01-15 10:26:45', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"CONCLUSION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Credit can potentially act as a hook for usage of digital solutions, provided the effective costs are lower compared to credit from informal sources, and access is speedier. Merchants also need to be provided information on the clear pathway on increase in credit as they continue using the digital facilities. Lenders and payment service providers must present a unified front and offer a superior customer experience to the merchants. Lastly, acceptance of new payment solutions requires end customers to be sensitized equally[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:26:45', '2019-01-15 10:26:45', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(39998, 12, '2019-01-15 10:30:19', '2019-01-15 10:30:19', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<p>The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.</p>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:30:19', '2019-01-15 10:30:19', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(39997, 12, '2019-01-15 10:27:36', '2019-01-15 10:27:36', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"CONCLUSION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Credit can potentially act as a hook for usage of digital solutions, provided the effective costs are lower compared to credit from informal sources, and access is speedier. Merchants also need to be provided information on the clear pathway on increase in credit as they continue using the digital facilities. Lenders and payment service providers must present a unified front and offer a superior customer experience to the merchants. Lastly, acceptance of new payment solutions requires end customers to be sensitized equally[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:27:36', '2019-01-15 10:27:36', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(40002, 12, '2019-01-15 10:41:32', '2019-01-15 10:41:32', '', 'sc6', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'sc6', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:41:32', '2019-01-15 10:41:32', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sc6.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(40003, 12, '2019-01-15 10:42:13', '2019-01-15 10:42:13', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:42:13', '2019-01-15 10:42:13', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40004, 12, '2019-01-15 10:47:49', '2019-01-15 10:47:49', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:47:49', '2019-01-15 10:47:49', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40005, 12, '2019-01-15 10:48:23', '2019-01-15 10:48:23', '', '04', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '04-5', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:48:23', '2019-01-15 10:48:23', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/04.png', 0, 'attachment', 'image/png', 0),
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(40007, 12, '2019-01-15 10:48:44', '2019-01-15 10:48:44', '', '03', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '03-5', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:48:44', '2019-01-15 10:48:44', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/03.png', 0, 'attachment', 'image/png', 0),
(40008, 12, '2019-01-15 10:52:05', '2019-01-15 10:52:05', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547540019277{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<p><strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong></p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants\r\n</li>\r\n<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p><strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong></p>\r\n<p><strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener. </p>\r\n<p></strong></p>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<p><strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers: </p>\r\n<p></strong></p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment<br />\r\nsolutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as<br />\r\nwell as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept<br />\r\npayments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution<br />\r\ntypes within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept<br />\r\npayment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also<br />\r\nhad a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of<br />\r\ntheir choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong></p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutions\r\n<p>per segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),\r\n<p>delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,\r\n<p>new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"24297\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547549501652{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<p><strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong></p>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<p><strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong></p>\r\n<p>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n<p>.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"24297\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547549640446{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 10:52:05', '2019-01-15 10:52:05', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(40012, 12, '2019-01-15 11:03:46', '2019-01-15 11:03:46', '', '04', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '04-6', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:03:46', '2019-01-15 11:03:46', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/04.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(40013, 12, '2019-01-15 11:05:17', '2019-01-15 11:05:17', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547540019277{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n	<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment\r\nsolutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as\r\nwell as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept\r\npayments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution\r\ntypes within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept\r\npayment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also\r\nhad a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of\r\ntheir choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"24297\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547549501652{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"24297\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547549640446{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:05:17', '2019-01-15 11:05:17', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40014, 12, '2019-01-15 11:06:33', '2019-01-15 11:06:33', '', 'IMG6', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'img6-4', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:06:33', '2019-01-15 11:06:33', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IMG6.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
INSERT INTO `in_posts` (`ID`, `post_author`, `post_date`, `post_date_gmt`, `post_content`, `post_title`, `post_excerpt`, `post_status`, `comment_status`, `ping_status`, `post_password`, `post_name`, `to_ping`, `pinged`, `post_modified`, `post_modified_gmt`, `post_content_filtered`, `post_parent`, `guid`, `menu_order`, `post_type`, `post_mime_type`, `comment_count`) VALUES
(40015, 12, '2019-01-15 11:07:18', '2019-01-15 11:07:18', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"LEARNING AND FEEDBACK\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<p>We also conducted a feedback exercise to understand people’s perception of the content and form of the UPI comic books. This was conducted over two days, in early November 2018, and aimed to understand how these collaterals can be improved to benefit people at different points of the user journey. We distributed the comic books to a sample of 20 people of varying age groups and financial literacy levels. On the first day, we carried out a dipstick survey to gather information on demographics and to gauge the audiences’ understanding of financial services. We followed this up with distribution of comic books. The next day, we collected feedback on the content and form of the collateral. While the period of research was too short and the sample size too small to gauge clear results and make generalized conclusions, we were still able to gather various interesting insights about the usage of comic books for promoting digital financial awareness in low-income clusters.</p>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40014\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:07:18', '2019-01-15 11:07:18', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40017, 12, '2019-01-15 11:19:03', '2019-01-15 11:19:03', '', 'Comic learning note', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'comic-learning-note-2', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:19:03', '2019-01-15 11:19:03', '', 0, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf', 0, 'attachment', 'application/pdf', 0),
(40019, 12, '2019-01-15 11:19:51', '2019-01-15 11:19:51', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"LEARNING AND FEEDBACK\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]We also conducted a feedback exercise to understand people’s perception of the content and form of the UPI comic books. This was conducted over two days, in early November 2018, and aimed to understand how these collaterals can be improved to benefit people at different points of the user journey. We distributed the comic books to a sample of 20 people of varying age groups and financial literacy levels. On the first day, we carried out a dipstick survey to gather information on demographics and to gauge the audiences’ understanding of financial services. We followed this up with distribution of comic books. The next day, we collected feedback on the content and form of the collateral. While the period of research was too short and the sample size too small to gauge clear results and make generalized conclusions, we were still able to gather various interesting insights about the usage of comic books for promoting digital financial awareness in low-income clusters.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40014\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"FINDINGS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"Characteristics of the sample\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Forty-one percent of the sample was male, 59 percent was female and age of the respondents ranged from 14 to 61 years. More than half of the respondents had studied till class10. While almost 76 percent claimed to have bank accounts, only 41 percent had ATM cards and, even among those with ATM cards, 35 percent had been unsuccessful in generating an ATM pin. Thirty percent of the sample did not have access to smartphones or the internet which prevented them from accessing new digital payments services such as UPI. It was surprising to find that more than 80 percent of the respondents did not use an ATM card and less than 30 percent was actively making transactions using any digital method of payment. Awareness about UPI and other online method of payments was low and 47 percent claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever. Even among those who did, awareness was restricted to the benefits of using digital payment methods and a very small percentage was aware about usage of UPI-based apps.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Insights\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Most people claimed to have easily understood the comic book and its contents. Those who didn’t were either illiterate or not involved in the process of making transactions from their bank accounts (someone else in the family was doing it for them). While the response was less positive among the elderly population, the comic books were fairly well received by school and college students, working youth and middle-aged people.\r\n\r\nThe respondents involved in the feedback exercise seemed to show a significant increase in their awareness of UPI. The majority claimed to have learnt about multiple topics such as benefits of digital payments, registration and usage of UPI due to the comic’s interactive and illustrative approach. Eighty eight percent of the sample said that they enjoyed reading the comic book and went through the entire document because of its ‘fun to read’ nature; almost half of the sample found it easy to read and follow. Children and youth, in particular, seemed to find the stories really interesting. Comic books, therefore, may be a successful way of reaching out to them especially while dealing with a serious topic such as financial inclusion.\r\n\r\nWe also received suggestions on the importance of using highly simplified language and short sentences in the comics. Featuring a higher number of illustrations and pictures and minimal text is important while communicating information on complex topics such as new financial services. Further, elucidating each and every single step for registering/making transactions is essential even if it results in a lengthier comic as it increases the chances of people taking action after reading the collateral.\r\n\r\nLastly, in communities such as Bhatta Basti where there are low levels of financial awareness and independence, comic books may be a costeffective solution for increasing adoption of digital payments. However, it is important to pinpoint the stage at which people are in their user journeys. Instead of creating and distributing comic books uniformly across the entire population, it may be more beneficial to customize these collaterals in such a way so that people at different stages of the user journey spectrum are able to use them to proceed step by step to the next level.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:19:51', '2019-01-15 11:19:51', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40016, 12, '2019-01-15 11:15:47', '2019-01-15 11:15:47', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"39439\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"LEARNING AND FEEDBACK\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]We also conducted a feedback exercise to understand people’s perception of the content and form of the UPI comic books. This was conducted over two days, in early November 2018, and aimed to understand how these collaterals can be improved to benefit people at different points of the user journey. We distributed the comic books to a sample of 20 people of varying age groups and financial literacy levels. On the first day, we carried out a dipstick survey to gather information on demographics and to gauge the audiences’ understanding of financial services. We followed this up with distribution of comic books. The next day, we collected feedback on the content and form of the collateral. While the period of research was too short and the sample size too small to gauge clear results and make generalized conclusions, we were still able to gather various interesting insights about the usage of comic books for promoting digital financial awareness in low-income clusters.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40014\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"FINDINGS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"Characteristics of the sample\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<p>Forty-one percent of the sample was male, 59 percent was female and age of the respondents ranged from 14 to 61 years. More than half of the respondents had studied till class10. While almost 76 percent claimed to have bank accounts, only 41 percent had ATM cards and, even among those with ATM cards, 35 percent had been unsuccessful in generating an ATM pin. Thirty percent of the sample did not have access to smartphones or the internet which prevented them from accessing new digital payments services such as UPI. It was surprising to find that more than 80 percent of the respondents did not use an ATM card and less than 30 percent was actively making transactions using any digital method of payment. Awareness about UPI and other online method of payments was low and 47 percent claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever. Even among those who did, awareness was restricted to the benefits of using digital payment methods and a very small percentage was aware about usage of UPI-based apps.</p>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Insights\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<p>Most people claimed to have easily understood the comic book and its contents. Those who didn’t were either illiterate or not involved in the process of making transactions from their bank accounts (someone else in the family was doing it for them). While the response was less positive among the elderly population, the comic books were fairly well received by school and college students, working youth and middle-aged people.</p>\r\n<P>The respondents involved in the feedback exercise seemed to show a significant increase in their awareness of UPI. The majority claimed to have learnt about multiple topics such as benefits of digital payments, registration and usage of UPI due to the comic’s interactive and illustrative approach. Eighty eight percent of the sample said that they enjoyed reading the comic book and went through the entire document because of its ‘fun to read’ nature; almost half of the sample found it easy to read and follow. Children and youth, in particular, seemed to find the stories really interesting. Comic books, therefore, may be a successful way of reaching out to them especially while dealing with a serious topic such as financial inclusion.</P>\r\n<P>We also received suggestions on the importance of using highly simplified language and short sentences in the comics. Featuring a higher number of illustrations and pictures and minimal text is important while communicating information on complex topics such as new financial services. Further, elucidating each and every single step for registering/making transactions is essential even if it results in a lengthier comic as it increases the chances of people taking action after reading the collateral.</P>\r\n<P>Lastly, in communities such as Bhatta Basti where there are low levels of financial awareness and independence, comic books may be a costeffective solution for increasing adoption of digital payments. However, it is important to pinpoint the stage at which people are in their user journeys. Instead of creating and distributing comic books uniformly across the entire population, it may be more beneficial to customize these collaterals in such a way so that people at different stages of the user journey spectrum are able to use them to proceed step by step to the next level.</P>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">TECHNICAL WRITERS:</span> John Arun and Shubhranka Mondal</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #da092b;\">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:</span> The authors would like to thank Jayshree Venkatesan for her expert advice, and CATALYST’s Feet on Street team, for their ground support</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CH-Learning-Note-v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:15:47', '2019-01-15 11:15:47', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40024, 12, '2019-01-15 11:25:52', '2019-01-15 11:25:52', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547540019277{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n	<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment\r\nsolutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as\r\nwell as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept\r\npayments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution\r\ntypes within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept\r\npayment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also\r\nhad a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of\r\ntheir choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40012\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547549501652{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547550681261{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>1. Low trust in automated mechanisms (vs. human interventions)</strong>During interactions, merchants emphasized that they receive information on digital payment from bank representatives. Merchants frequently talk to these\r\nrepresentatives and, as a result, place a certain degree of trust in them. Merchants also unequivocally stated that a customer support team on the back-end could make IVRS more useful so that they could get their doubts cleared and queries answered by the customer support team. Currently IVRS 2.0 does not have this feature.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Complexity of digital payment solutions</strong>Merchants felt that the length and breadth of information on IVRS 2.0 covers all the requisite nuances that govern the choices to be made by them before adopting a digital payment option. However, they felt that they did not have the bandwidth to listen to such as lengthy call; that there would be information drop-offs, given the volume of information. They would be happier with a hardcopy or a visual aid or webpage which can compare various solutions for ease of access and understanding.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Closing the ‘Awareness to Adoption’ loop</strong>   \r\n Converting awareness on digital payments to action (exploring payment modes for adoption, and so on) is one of the most important levers for expanding the reach of digital payments into the low-income merchant community. Merchants felt that lead generation could prove to be beneficial, as there was no\r\nother such service available. It helps them to act on the information and adopt a solution of their choice at their own\r\nconvenience, which is a huge advantage. Merchants further emphasized that they listen to such information and then forget it when there is no actionable at the end. However, with the lead generation layer, the knowledge they acquire can be put to use instantaneously and thus was of interest to merchants.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#323232\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40006\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conclusion\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547551026855{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]During the focus group discussions with merchants, it was revealed that that the IVRS platform as a tool covers digital payments in great detail and captures all the requisite information on important decision making variables when it comes to adoption of digital payments. Merchants perceive the missed call mechanism as advantageous as it enables them to access the platform at their convenience, and find it compelling. However, given the length of the call and complexity of the information, merchants felt that they would be better served if this information was in front of them on a sheet of paper or a webpage which makes it easier to comprehend it.\r\n\r\nBased on these interviews, while the use of IVRS during the intervention was low owing to the length and complexity of information in the calls, the efficacy of IVRS as medium – to create awareness and close the awareness to adoption loop – may be considered significant. With more tailored messaging for different merchant groups in a more crisp format that caters to relevant groups, IVRS could prove to be an effective medium.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:25:52', '2019-01-15 11:25:52', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40018, 12, '2019-01-15 11:19:27', '2019-01-15 11:19:27', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547540019277{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n	<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment\r\nsolutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as\r\nwell as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept\r\npayments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution\r\ntypes within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept\r\npayment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also\r\nhad a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of\r\ntheir choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40012\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547549501652{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547550681261{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>1. Low trust in automated mechanisms (vs. human interventions)</strong>\r\n<p>During interactions, merchants emphasized that they receive information on digital payment from bank representatives. Merchants frequently talk to these\r\nrepresentatives and, as a result, place a certain degree of trust in them. Merchants also unequivocally stated that a customer support team on the back-end could make IVRS more useful so that they could get their doubts cleared and queries answered by the customer support team. Currently IVRS 2.0 does not have this feature.</p>\r\n<strong>2. Complexity of digital payment solutions</strong> \r\n<p>Merchants felt that the length and breadth of information on IVRS 2.0 covers all the requisite nuances that govern the choices to be made by them before adopting a digital payment option. However, they felt that they did not have the bandwidth to listen to such as lengthy call; that there would be information drop-offs, given the volume of information. They would be happier with a hardcopy or a visual aid or webpage which can compare various solutions for ease of access and understanding.</p>\r\n<strong>3. Closing the ‘Awareness to Adoption’ loop</strong> \r\n<p>   \r\n Converting awareness on digital payments to action (exploring payment modes for adoption, and so on) is one of the most important levers for expanding the reach of digital payments into the low-income merchant community. Merchants felt that lead generation could prove to be beneficial, as there was no\r\nother such service available. It helps them to act on the information and adopt a solution of their choice at their own\r\nconvenience, which is a huge advantage. Merchants further emphasized that they listen to such information and then forget it when there is no actionable at the end. However, with the lead generation layer, the knowledge they acquire can be put to use instantaneously and thus was of interest to merchants.\r\n\r\n</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40006\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conclusion\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:36px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:46px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547551026855{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<p>During the focus group discussions with merchants, it was revealed that that the IVRS platform as a tool covers digital payments in great detail and captures all the requisite information on important decision making variables when it comes to adoption of digital payments. Merchants perceive the missed call mechanism as advantageous as it enables them to access the platform at their convenience, and find it compelling. However, given the length of the call and complexity of the information, merchants felt that they would be better served if this information was in front of them on a sheet of paper or a webpage which makes it easier to comprehend it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\nBased on these interviews, while the use of IVRS during the intervention was low owing to the length and complexity of information in the calls, the efficacy of IVRS as medium – to create awareness and close the awareness to adoption loop – may be considered significant. With more tailored messaging for different merchant groups in a more crisp format that caters to relevant groups, IVRS could prove to be an effective medium.\r\n\r\n</p>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:19:27', '2019-01-15 11:19:27', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40020, 12, '2019-01-15 11:21:19', '2019-01-15 11:21:19', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"LEARNING AND FEEDBACK\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]We also conducted a feedback exercise to understand people’s perception of the content and form of the UPI comic books. This was conducted over two days, in early November 2018, and aimed to understand how these collaterals can be improved to benefit people at different points of the user journey. We distributed the comic books to a sample of 20 people of varying age groups and financial literacy levels. On the first day, we carried out a dipstick survey to gather information on demographics and to gauge the audiences’ understanding of financial services. We followed this up with distribution of comic books. The next day, we collected feedback on the content and form of the collateral. While the period of research was too short and the sample size too small to gauge clear results and make generalized conclusions, we were still able to gather various interesting insights about the usage of comic books for promoting digital financial awareness in low-income clusters.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40014\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"FINDINGS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"Characteristics of the sample\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Forty-one percent of the sample was male, 59 percent was female and age of the respondents ranged from 14 to 61 years. More than half of the respondents had studied till class10. While almost 76 percent claimed to have bank accounts, only 41 percent had ATM cards and, even among those with ATM cards, 35 percent had been unsuccessful in generating an ATM pin. Thirty percent of the sample did not have access to smartphones or the internet which prevented them from accessing new digital payments services such as UPI. It was surprising to find that more than 80 percent of the respondents did not use an ATM card and less than 30 percent was actively making transactions using any digital method of payment. Awareness about UPI and other online method of payments was low and 47 percent claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever. Even among those who did, awareness was restricted to the benefits of using digital payment methods and a very small percentage was aware about usage of UPI-based apps.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Insights\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Most people claimed to have easily understood the comic book and its contents. Those who didn’t were either illiterate or not involved in the process of making transactions from their bank accounts (someone else in the family was doing it for them). While the response was less positive among the elderly population, the comic books were fairly well received by school and college students, working youth and middle-aged people.\r\n\r\nThe respondents involved in the feedback exercise seemed to show a significant increase in their awareness of UPI. The majority claimed to have learnt about multiple topics such as benefits of digital payments, registration and usage of UPI due to the comic’s interactive and illustrative approach. Eighty eight percent of the sample said that they enjoyed reading the comic book and went through the entire document because of its ‘fun to read’ nature; almost half of the sample found it easy to read and follow. Children and youth, in particular, seemed to find the stories really interesting. Comic books, therefore, may be a successful way of reaching out to them especially while dealing with a serious topic such as financial inclusion.\r\n\r\nWe also received suggestions on the importance of using highly simplified language and short sentences in the comics. Featuring a higher number of illustrations and pictures and minimal text is important while communicating information on complex topics such as new financial services. Further, elucidating each and every single step for registering/making transactions is essential even if it results in a lengthier comic as it increases the chances of people taking action after reading the collateral.\r\n\r\nLastly, in communities such as Bhatta Basti where there are low levels of financial awareness and independence, comic books may be a costeffective solution for increasing adoption of digital payments. However, it is important to pinpoint the stage at which people are in their user journeys. Instead of creating and distributing comic books uniformly across the entire population, it may be more beneficial to customize these collaterals in such a way so that people at different stages of the user journey spectrum are able to use them to proceed step by step to the next level.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:21:19', '2019-01-15 11:21:19', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40021, 12, '2019-01-15 11:22:23', '2019-01-15 11:22:23', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"LEARNING AND FEEDBACK\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]We also conducted a feedback exercise to understand people’s perception of the content and form of the UPI comic books. This was conducted over two days, in early November 2018, and aimed to understand how these collaterals can be improved to benefit people at different points of the user journey. We distributed the comic books to a sample of 20 people of varying age groups and financial literacy levels. On the first day, we carried out a dipstick survey to gather information on demographics and to gauge the audiences’ understanding of financial services. We followed this up with distribution of comic books. The next day, we collected feedback on the content and form of the collateral. While the period of research was too short and the sample size too small to gauge clear results and make generalized conclusions, we were still able to gather various interesting insights about the usage of comic books for promoting digital financial awareness in low-income clusters.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40014\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"FINDINGS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"Characteristics of the sample\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Forty-one percent of the sample was male, 59 percent was female and age of the respondents ranged from 14 to 61 years. More than half of the respondents had studied till class10. While almost 76 percent claimed to have bank accounts, only 41 percent had ATM cards and, even among those with ATM cards, 35 percent had been unsuccessful in generating an ATM pin. Thirty percent of the sample did not have access to smartphones or the internet which prevented them from accessing new digital payments services such as UPI. It was surprising to find that more than 80 percent of the respondents did not use an ATM card and less than 30 percent was actively making transactions using any digital method of payment. Awareness about UPI and other online method of payments was low and 47 percent claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever. Even among those who did, awareness was restricted to the benefits of using digital payment methods and a very small percentage was aware about usage of UPI-based apps.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Insights\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Most people claimed to have easily understood the comic book and its contents. Those who didn’t were either illiterate or not involved in the process of making transactions from their bank accounts (someone else in the family was doing it for them). While the response was less positive among the elderly population, the comic books were fairly well received by school and college students, working youth and middle-aged people.\r\n\r\nThe respondents involved in the feedback exercise seemed to show a significant increase in their awareness of UPI. The majority claimed to have learnt about multiple topics such as benefits of digital payments, registration and usage of UPI due to the comic’s interactive and illustrative approach. Eighty eight percent of the sample said that they enjoyed reading the comic book and went through the entire document because of its ‘fun to read’ nature; almost half of the sample found it easy to read and follow. Children and youth, in particular, seemed to find the stories really interesting. Comic books, therefore, may be a successful way of reaching out to them especially while dealing with a serious topic such as financial inclusion.\r\n\r\nWe also received suggestions on the importance of using highly simplified language and short sentences in the comics. Featuring a higher number of illustrations and pictures and minimal text is important while communicating information on complex topics such as new financial services. Further, elucidating each and every single step for registering/making transactions is essential even if it results in a lengthier comic as it increases the chances of people taking action after reading the collateral.\r\n\r\nLastly, in communities such as Bhatta Basti where there are low levels of financial awareness and independence, comic books may be a costeffective solution for increasing adoption of digital payments. However, it is important to pinpoint the stage at which people are in their user journeys. Instead of creating and distributing comic books uniformly across the entire population, it may be more beneficial to customize these collaterals in such a way so that people at different stages of the user journey spectrum are able to use them to proceed step by step to the next level.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:22:23', '2019-01-15 11:22:23', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40022, 12, '2019-01-15 11:23:32', '2019-01-15 11:23:32', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"LEARNING AND FEEDBACK\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]We also conducted a feedback exercise to understand people’s perception of the content and form of the UPI comic books. This was conducted over two days, in early November 2018, and aimed to understand how these collaterals can be improved to benefit people at different points of the user journey. We distributed the comic books to a sample of 20 people of varying age groups and financial literacy levels. On the first day, we carried out a dipstick survey to gather information on demographics and to gauge the audiences’ understanding of financial services. We followed this up with distribution of comic books. The next day, we collected feedback on the content and form of the collateral. While the period of research was too short and the sample size too small to gauge clear results and make generalized conclusions, we were still able to gather various interesting insights about the usage of comic books for promoting digital financial awareness in low-income clusters.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40014\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"FINDINGS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"Characteristics of the sample\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Forty-one percent of the sample was male, 59 percent was female and age of the respondents ranged from 14 to 61 years. More than half of the respondents had studied till class10. While almost 76 percent claimed to have bank accounts, only 41 percent had ATM cards and, even among those with ATM cards, 35 percent had been unsuccessful in generating an ATM pin. Thirty percent of the sample did not have access to smartphones or the internet which prevented them from accessing new digital payments services such as UPI. It was surprising to find that more than 80 percent of the respondents did not use an ATM card and less than 30 percent was actively making transactions using any digital method of payment. Awareness about UPI and other online method of payments was low and 47 percent claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever. Even among those who did, awareness was restricted to the benefits of using digital payment methods and a very small percentage was aware about usage of UPI-based apps.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Insights\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Most people claimed to have easily understood the comic book and its contents. Those who didn’t were either illiterate or not involved in the process of making transactions from their bank accounts (someone else in the family was doing it for them). While the response was less positive among the elderly population, the comic books were fairly well received by school and college students, working youth and middle-aged people.\r\n\r\nThe respondents involved in the feedback exercise seemed to show a significant increase in their awareness of UPI. The majority claimed to have learnt about multiple topics such as benefits of digital payments, registration and usage of UPI due to the comic’s interactive and illustrative approach. Eighty eight percent of the sample said that they enjoyed reading the comic book and went through the entire document because of its ‘fun to read’ nature; almost half of the sample found it easy to read and follow. Children and youth, in particular, seemed to find the stories really interesting. Comic books, therefore, may be a successful way of reaching out to them especially while dealing with a serious topic such as financial inclusion.\r\n\r\nWe also received suggestions on the importance of using highly simplified language and short sentences in the comics. Featuring a higher number of illustrations and pictures and minimal text is important while communicating information on complex topics such as new financial services. Further, elucidating each and every single step for registering/making transactions is essential even if it results in a lengthier comic as it increases the chances of people taking action after reading the collateral.\r\n\r\nLastly, in communities such as Bhatta Basti where there are low levels of financial awareness and independence, comic books may be a costeffective solution for increasing adoption of digital payments. However, it is important to pinpoint the stage at which people are in their user journeys. Instead of creating and distributing comic books uniformly across the entire population, it may be more beneficial to customize these collaterals in such a way so that people at different stages of the user journey spectrum are able to use them to proceed step by step to the next level.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:23:32', '2019-01-15 11:23:32', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40023, 12, '2019-01-15 11:24:32', '2019-01-15 11:24:32', '[vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39430\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"140px\"][kleo_gap size=\"50px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531456733{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1488531444909{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"INTRODUCTION\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1537456868816{margin-bottom: 35px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The 2011 Census of India reports a total of 65.49 million slum inhabitants living in 13.92 million households in India. Although India’s urban population has an estimated total of 33,510 slums, great variability exists in legal status, deprivation, living condition, type of structure, etc. The inhabitants of these slums are the urban poor and remain outside the ambit of formal finance. Conventional finance so far has not been able to serve this last mile, keeping them excluded from the financial system. Uptake of digital payments can greatly benefit these last mile consumers by facilitating faster and simpler financial transactions, thereby connecting them to formal financial channels. Recognizing this potential, CATALYST launched its pilot project in Bhatta Basti, an urban slum located on the outskirts of Jaipur city, Rajasthan. A migrant settlement with a population of 45,000 people and 1,000 households, it is predominantly a Muslim community where most of the population has low educational achievement.\r\n\r\nOur baseline study in 2017 indicated that digital financial capability of slum dwellers in Bhatta Basti was significantly low. Thus, CATALYST experimented with a range of collaterals to promote digital financial inclusion in Bhatta Basti and attempted to understand people’s attitude and perceptions towards each of these media. One such attempt involved using illustrated comic books to spread awareness and encourage adoption of digital payment solutions among people. Past research in the field had indicated that comic books may be a successful medium for sensitization on a range of\r\nissues because they appeal to people from various age groups. A study on digital financial inclusion conducted by Institute for Financial Management and Research -Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD) in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums in 2012 used comic books for disseminating important information. The learnings from this study helped us in establishing important guidelines for designing our comics and their stories.\r\n\r\nA significant learning from the Dharavi study was that it is important to customize the comic books to the target audience. Use of characters and scenarios similar to those seen by the target audience every day is crucial to enable them to form a connection between issues they face and benefits of adopting digital payments. There exists a huge gap in awareness and access to financial services between men and women in low-income clusters and using women as protagonists in the stories may be more effective to reach out and impact women in lowincome clusters.\r\n\r\nUsing this learning as a guideline, we created and distributed three comic books over the course of three months: one on Automated Teller Machine\r\n(ATM) pin generation; one on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS); and one on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. The comic books\r\non ATM pin generation and AEPS had women as the main characters while the one on UPI payments had male protagonists.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. ATM PIN GENERATION\r\n\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style \"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Our primary research in Bhatta Basti indicated that there existed a huge information gap related to the importance and correct usage of ATM cards. Many\r\npeople who had received ATM cards from the banks were unaware of how to generate an ATM pin and how to use the card to withdraw money. Further, people in this community had various misconceptions regarding the safety of ATM cards; they had been victims of various frauds due to which they lacked trust in digital payment platforms. Thus, we decided to provide a detailed explanation on how to generate an ATM pin and keep the account safe in our first comic book. We created two versions: one for men and one for women. Insights from the Dharavi study indicated that women tend to relate more to a story when female protagonists are used. Since women were a major section of our target audience, we decided to create two versions. A sample of what the “ATM Pin Generation” comic looked like is provided below:\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39622\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. AADHAAR ENABLED PAYMENT SYSTEM (AEPS)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Another mode of digital payments that we promoted through comic books was AEPS. Since many people in Bhatta Basti faced problems related to access and usage of ATM cards, AEPS acted as a good alternative for enabling usage of digital payment solutions. AEPS allowed customers to pay by just scanning their fingerprint and thus was an easy solution for many people in Bhatta Basti who did not have access to ATM cards. One of our incubatees, Fingpay, worked on providing biometric devices to vegetable vendors and other small merchants and we distributed the comic books to the target audience to create awareness about these services. Since women formed a larger percentage of customers for these vendors, we decided to use female characters for our comics.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"39993\" img_size=\"746*526\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. UPI\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The third comic book that we created and distributed was on UPI payments. This was mainly targeted at people towards the end of the digital payments user journey and sought to increase adoption and usage of UPI-based platforms such as PhonePe, Bhim UPI, WhatsApp payments, etc. The comic book contained step-by-step illustrations on how to register on such platforms and make transactions. It also focused on highlighting the advantages of using UPI, through a story format. Since our past research had indicated that the last stages of the digital payments user journeys in Bhatta Basti were male dominated, we decided to use male protagonists in this comic book. However, this learning cannot be universalized as selection of characters and stories should be context specific. Creating comic books to spread awareness should be grounded in the findings from that community.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"39999\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40000\" img_size=\"727*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40001\" img_size=\"922*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"40002\" img_size=\"531*540\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"LEARNING AND FEEDBACK\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]We also conducted a feedback exercise to understand people’s perception of the content and form of the UPI comic books. This was conducted over two days, in early November 2018, and aimed to understand how these collaterals can be improved to benefit people at different points of the user journey. We distributed the comic books to a sample of 20 people of varying age groups and financial literacy levels. On the first day, we carried out a dipstick survey to gather information on demographics and to gauge the audiences’ understanding of financial services. We followed this up with distribution of comic books. The next day, we collected feedback on the content and form of the collateral. While the period of research was too short and the sample size too small to gauge clear results and make generalized conclusions, we were still able to gather various interesting insights about the usage of comic books for promoting digital financial awareness in low-income clusters.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40014\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"75\" padding_bottom=\"75\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"FINDINGS\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"normal-style \"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=\"Characteristics of the sample\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Forty-one percent of the sample was male, 59 percent was female and age of the respondents ranged from 14 to 61 years. More than half of the respondents had studied till class10. While almost 76 percent claimed to have bank accounts, only 41 percent had ATM cards and, even among those with ATM cards, 35 percent had been unsuccessful in generating an ATM pin. Thirty percent of the sample did not have access to smartphones or the internet which prevented them from accessing new digital payments services such as UPI. It was surprising to find that more than 80 percent of the respondents did not use an ATM card and less than 30 percent was actively making transactions using any digital method of payment. Awareness about UPI and other online method of payments was low and 47 percent claimed to have no knowledge whatsoever. Even among those who did, awareness was restricted to the benefits of using digital payment methods and a very small percentage was aware about usage of UPI-based apps.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Insights\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23383b3b|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\"][vc_column_inner el_class=\"normal-style\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Most people claimed to have easily understood the comic book and its contents. Those who didn’t were either illiterate or not involved in the process of making transactions from their bank accounts (someone else in the family was doing it for them). While the response was less positive among the elderly population, the comic books were fairly well received by school and college students, working youth and middle-aged people.\r\n\r\nThe respondents involved in the feedback exercise seemed to show a significant increase in their awareness of UPI. The majority claimed to have learnt about multiple topics such as benefits of digital payments, registration and usage of UPI due to the comic’s interactive and illustrative approach. Eighty eight percent of the sample said that they enjoyed reading the comic book and went through the entire document because of its ‘fun to read’ nature; almost half of the sample found it easy to read and follow. Children and youth, in particular, seemed to find the stories really interesting. Comic books, therefore, may be a successful way of reaching out to them especially while dealing with a serious topic such as financial inclusion.\r\n\r\nWe also received suggestions on the importance of using highly simplified language and short sentences in the comics. Featuring a higher number of illustrations and pictures and minimal text is important while communicating information on complex topics such as new financial services. Further, elucidating each and every single step for registering/making transactions is essential even if it results in a lengthier comic as it increases the chances of people taking action after reading the collateral.\r\n\r\nLastly, in communities such as Bhatta Basti where there are low levels of financial awareness and independence, comic books may be a costeffective solution for increasing adoption of digital payments. However, it is important to pinpoint the stage at which people are in their user journeys. Instead of creating and distributing comic books uniformly across the entire population, it may be more beneficial to customize these collaterals in such a way so that people at different stages of the user journey spectrum are able to use them to proceed step by step to the next level.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\"][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download full report\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Comic-learning-note-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\"footer_area\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" padding_top=\"50px\" padding_bottom=\"50px\" bg_image=\"7886\"][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\" offset=\"vc_col-lg-offset-0 vc_col-md-offset-0 vc_col-sm-offset-0\"][vc_single_image image=\"7888\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text text_color=\"#ffffff\" font_size=\"14px\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484826151396{margin-top: 35px !important;margin-bottom: 5px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">CATALYST is an initiative seeded by an alliance between the Government of India &amp; USAID, to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India, especially for small merchants and low-income consumers.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1484051069491{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}\"]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[email-newsletter-plugin]</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_icon icon=\"facebook\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/CashlessCatalyst/\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"linkedin\" href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/company/13221050?trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Acompany%2CclickedEntityId%3A13221050%2Cidx%3A2-1-2%2CtarId%3A1476420479247%2Ctas%3Acashless%20catalyst\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/cashlesscatalys\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][kleo_icon icon=\"youtube-play\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChuc38_PfawDOu44IfYS4lw\" target=\"_blank\" padding=\"15px\" icon_color=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/4\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'USING COMIC BOOKS TO INCREASE DIGITAL FINANCIAL CAPABILITIES IN LOW-INCOME CLUSTERS', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39971-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:24:32', '2019-01-15 11:24:32', '', 39971, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39971-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40041, 12, '2019-01-15 13:24:15', '2019-01-15 13:24:15', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552662465{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n	<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/2\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment solutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as well as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept  payments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution types within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept payment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also had a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of their choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40012\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552696927{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547553343106{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>1. Low trust in automated mechanisms (vs. human interventions)</strong>\r\n\r\nDuring interactions, merchants emphasized that they receive information on digital payment from bank representatives. Merchants frequently talk to these representatives and, as a result, place a certain degree of trust in them. Merchants also unequivocally stated that a customer support team on the back-end could make IVRS more useful so that they could get their doubts cleared and queries answered by the customer support team. Currently IVRS 2.0 does not have this feature.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Complexity of digital payment solutions</strong>\r\n\r\nMerchants felt that the length and breadth of information on IVRS 2.0 covers all the requisite nuances that govern the choices to be made by them before adopting a digital payment option. However, they felt that they did not have the bandwidth to listen to such as lengthy call; that there would be information drop-offs, given the volume of information. They would be happier with a hardcopy or a visual aid or webpage which can compare various solutions for ease of access and understanding.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Closing the ‘Awareness to Adoption’ loop</strong>\r\n\r\nConverting awareness on digital payments to action (exploring payment modes for adoption, and so on) is one of the most important levers for expanding the reach of digital payments into the low-income merchant community. Merchants felt that lead generation could prove to be beneficial, as there was no other such service available. It helps them to act on the information and adopt a solution of their choice at their own convenience, which is a huge advantage. Merchants further emphasized that they listen to such information and then forget it when there is no actionable at the end. However, with the lead generation layer, the knowledge they acquire can be put to use instantaneously and thus was of interest to merchants.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#323232\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40006\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conclusion\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547553318954{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]During the focus group discussions with merchants, it was revealed that that the IVRS platform as a tool covers digital payments in great detail and captures all the requisite information on important decision making variables when it comes to adoption of digital payments. Merchants perceive the missed call mechanism as advantageous as it enables them to access the platform at their convenience, and find it compelling. However, given the length of the call and complexity of the information, merchants felt that they would be better served if this information was in front of them on a sheet of paper or a webpage which makes it easier to comprehend it.\r\n\r\nBased on these interviews, while the use of IVRS during the intervention was low owing to the length and complexity of information in the calls, the efficacy of IVRS as medium – to create awareness and close the awareness to adoption loop – may be considered significant. With more tailored messaging for different merchant groups in a more crisp format that caters to relevant groups, IVRS could prove to be an effective medium.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 13:24:15', '2019-01-15 13:24:15', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40040, 12, '2019-01-15 13:23:20', '2019-01-15 13:23:20', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552662465{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<p><strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong></p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p><strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong></p>\r\n<p><strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.</p>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"7/12\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment solutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as well as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept  payments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution types within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept payment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also had a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of their choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40012\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552696927{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547553343106{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>1. Low trust in automated mechanisms (vs. human interventions)</strong>\r\n\r\nDuring interactions, merchants emphasized that they receive information on digital payment from bank representatives. Merchants frequently talk to these representatives and, as a result, place a certain degree of trust in them. Merchants also unequivocally stated that a customer support team on the back-end could make IVRS more useful so that they could get their doubts cleared and queries answered by the customer support team. Currently IVRS 2.0 does not have this feature.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Complexity of digital payment solutions</strong>\r\n\r\nMerchants felt that the length and breadth of information on IVRS 2.0 covers all the requisite nuances that govern the choices to be made by them before adopting a digital payment option. However, they felt that they did not have the bandwidth to listen to such as lengthy call; that there would be information drop-offs, given the volume of information. They would be happier with a hardcopy or a visual aid or webpage which can compare various solutions for ease of access and understanding.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Closing the ‘Awareness to Adoption’ loop</strong>\r\n\r\nConverting awareness on digital payments to action (exploring payment modes for adoption, and so on) is one of the most important levers for expanding the reach of digital payments into the low-income merchant community. Merchants felt that lead generation could prove to be beneficial, as there was no other such service available. It helps them to act on the information and adopt a solution of their choice at their own convenience, which is a huge advantage. Merchants further emphasized that they listen to such information and then forget it when there is no actionable at the end. However, with the lead generation layer, the knowledge they acquire can be put to use instantaneously and thus was of interest to merchants.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#323232\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40006\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conclusion\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547553318954{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]During the focus group discussions with merchants, it was revealed that that the IVRS platform as a tool covers digital payments in great detail and captures all the requisite information on important decision making variables when it comes to adoption of digital payments. Merchants perceive the missed call mechanism as advantageous as it enables them to access the platform at their convenience, and find it compelling. However, given the length of the call and complexity of the information, merchants felt that they would be better served if this information was in front of them on a sheet of paper or a webpage which makes it easier to comprehend it.\r\n\r\nBased on these interviews, while the use of IVRS during the intervention was low owing to the length and complexity of information in the calls, the efficacy of IVRS as medium – to create awareness and close the awareness to adoption loop – may be considered significant. With more tailored messaging for different merchant groups in a more crisp format that caters to relevant groups, IVRS could prove to be an effective medium.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 13:23:20', '2019-01-15 13:23:20', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40025, 12, '2019-01-15 11:43:28', '2019-01-15 11:43:28', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552662465{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n	<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment\r\nsolutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as\r\nwell as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept\r\npayments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution\r\ntypes within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept\r\npayment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also\r\nhad a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of\r\ntheir choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40012\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552696927{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552721847{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>1. Low trust in automated mechanisms (vs. human interventions)</strong>During interactions, merchants emphasized that they receive information on digital payment from bank representatives. Merchants frequently talk to these\r\nrepresentatives and, as a result, place a certain degree of trust in them. Merchants also unequivocally stated that a customer support team on the back-end could make IVRS more useful so that they could get their doubts cleared and queries answered by the customer support team. Currently IVRS 2.0 does not have this feature.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Complexity of digital payment solutions</strong>Merchants felt that the length and breadth of information on IVRS 2.0 covers all the requisite nuances that govern the choices to be made by them before adopting a digital payment option. However, they felt that they did not have the bandwidth to listen to such as lengthy call; that there would be information drop-offs, given the volume of information. They would be happier with a hardcopy or a visual aid or webpage which can compare various solutions for ease of access and understanding.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Closing the ‘Awareness to Adoption’ loop</strong>   \r\n Converting awareness on digital payments to action (exploring payment modes for adoption, and so on) is one of the most important levers for expanding the reach of digital payments into the low-income merchant community. Merchants felt that lead generation could prove to be beneficial, as there was no\r\nother such service available. It helps them to act on the information and adopt a solution of their choice at their own\r\nconvenience, which is a huge advantage. Merchants further emphasized that they listen to such information and then forget it when there is no actionable at the end. However, with the lead generation layer, the knowledge they acquire can be put to use instantaneously and thus was of interest to merchants.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#323232\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40006\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conclusion\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552739348{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]During the focus group discussions with merchants, it was revealed that that the IVRS platform as a tool covers digital payments in great detail and captures all the requisite information on important decision making variables when it comes to adoption of digital payments. Merchants perceive the missed call mechanism as advantageous as it enables them to access the platform at their convenience, and find it compelling. However, given the length of the call and complexity of the information, merchants felt that they would be better served if this information was in front of them on a sheet of paper or a webpage which makes it easier to comprehend it.\r\n\r\nBased on these interviews, while the use of IVRS during the intervention was low owing to the length and complexity of information in the calls, the efficacy of IVRS as medium – to create awareness and close the awareness to adoption loop – may be considered significant. With more tailored messaging for different merchant groups in a more crisp format that caters to relevant groups, IVRS could prove to be an effective medium.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:43:28', '2019-01-15 11:43:28', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40026, 12, '2019-01-15 11:44:51', '2019-01-15 11:44:51', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552662465{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n	<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment\r\nsolutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as\r\nwell as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept\r\npayments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution\r\ntypes within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept\r\npayment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also\r\nhad a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of\r\ntheir choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40012\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552696927{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552721847{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>1. Low trust in automated mechanisms (vs. human interventions)</strong>During interactions, merchants emphasized that they receive information on digital payment from bank representatives. Merchants frequently talk to these\r\nrepresentatives and, as a result, place a certain degree of trust in them. Merchants also unequivocally stated that a customer support team on the back-end could make IVRS more useful so that they could get their doubts cleared and queries answered by the customer support team. Currently IVRS 2.0 does not have this feature.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Complexity of digital payment solutions</strong>Merchants felt that the length and breadth of information on IVRS 2.0 covers all the requisite nuances that govern the choices to be made by them before adopting a digital payment option. However, they felt that they did not have the bandwidth to listen to such as lengthy call; that there would be information drop-offs, given the volume of information. They would be happier with a hardcopy or a visual aid or webpage which can compare various solutions for ease of access and understanding.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Closing the ‘Awareness to Adoption’ loop</strong>   \r\n Converting awareness on digital payments to action (exploring payment modes for adoption, and so on) is one of the most important levers for expanding the reach of digital payments into the low-income merchant community. Merchants felt that lead generation could prove to be beneficial, as there was no\r\nother such service available. It helps them to act on the information and adopt a solution of their choice at their own\r\nconvenience, which is a huge advantage. Merchants further emphasized that they listen to such information and then forget it when there is no actionable at the end. However, with the lead generation layer, the knowledge they acquire can be put to use instantaneously and thus was of interest to merchants.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#323232\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40006\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conclusion\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552823627{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]During the focus group discussions with merchants, it was revealed that that the IVRS platform as a tool covers digital payments in great detail and captures all the requisite information on important decision making variables when it comes to adoption of digital payments. Merchants perceive the missed call mechanism as advantageous as it enables them to access the platform at their convenience, and find it compelling. However, given the length of the call and complexity of the information, merchants felt that they would be better served if this information was in front of them on a sheet of paper or a webpage which makes it easier to comprehend it.\r\n\r\nBased on these interviews, while the use of IVRS during the intervention was low owing to the length and complexity of information in the calls, the efficacy of IVRS as medium – to create awareness and close the awareness to adoption loop – may be considered significant. With more tailored messaging for different merchant groups in a more crisp format that caters to relevant groups, IVRS could prove to be an effective medium.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:44:51', '2019-01-15 11:44:51', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40028, 12, '2019-01-15 11:53:30', '2019-01-15 11:53:30', '[vc_row full_height=\"yes\" equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" text_align=\"center\" type=\"image\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"110\" padding_bottom=\"0\" bg_image=\"39982\"][vc_column][kleo_gap size=\"100px\"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"uppercase\" width=\"2/3\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Testing IVRS as a tool to promote digital payment adoption among microand small merchants\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:48px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:54px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][kleo_gap size=\"130px\"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\" type=\"color\" bg_color=\"#ffffff\" padding_top=\"10\" padding_bottom=\"0\"][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1/2\"][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner width=\"5/12\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265033147{padding-right: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265063058{padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"][addtoany][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/4\" css=\".vc_custom_1504265782417{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}\"][kleo_button title=\"Print this page\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IVRS_Story-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"custom\" position=\"left\" size=\"lg\" special=\"no\" border=\"no\" icon=\"print\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"grey-icon\" custom_text=\"#d11e3c\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<em>Digital financial services in India have the potential to deliver timely and relevant products to low-income unbanked and underbanked populations. The uptake in mobile phone ownership, along with rapid advances in digital payment systems, is creating opportunities to connect poor households to affordable and reliable financial tools through mobile phones, and other digital interfaces. However, there are numerous hurdles – regulatory, geographic, sociocultural, infrastructural – for cashless interventions and, as a result, reaching the last mile user has always been a challenge.</em>\r\n\r\nCATALYST has been working to promote adoption and usage of digital payment solutions by micro merchant communities including government to people (G2P) services, dairy booths, kirana stores, and others. One of the major barriers to adoption and usage of digital payments is the lack of proper knowledge associated with the payment solutions. In a recent study conducted by CATALYST in partnership with PRICE, 42 percent of the fixed store merchants interviewed cited lack of awareness of digital payments as a barrier to adoption. Digital payments in India are complex in terms of understanding of the technology, which has undergone significant flux as well as regulatory changes (e.g., pricing, customer protection). It is therefore important to dispel doubts and fears that merchants and customers have on digital money and the security of their transactions.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"39987\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]In pursuit of a sustainable and scalable model to spread awareness on digital payments and to equip merchants to make informed choices, CATALYST tested a dedicated Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) platform for small merchants. The objective was to build a financial literacy platform that seamlessly overcomes the constraints of literacy, regional differences, and the needs and costs of in-person counsel and training.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40011\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"39991\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Evolution from IVRS 1.0 to IVRS 2.0 \" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552662465{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=\"yes\" content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]Initially, CATALYST partnered with a vendor to build an IVRS to provide information on digital payment methods to small merchants. IVRS 1.0 covered multiple payment types which included mobile-based payment options such as Wallets, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) as well card-based payment solutions such as Point of Sale (PoS) devices, mobile PoS (m-PoS) and Bharat QR. The IVRS featured information such as the onboarding process, cost of ownership and payment completion process for\r\neach of the payment types. The goal of developing the IVRS was to provide an alternative channel for small merchants who do not typically use a smartphones to access information on digital payments.\r\n\r\nThirty-five merchant interviews were conducted in targeted areas across Jaipur, Delhi and Gurugram. In this phase, a mixed sample of 15 fixed store merchants, 10 roving merchants, four home-based business owners, and six merchants from federated networks such as eMitra and dairy were interviewed.\r\n\r\n<strong>While the value of the platform as a tool was revealed to be high, its usability was low. Some of the learnings from beta testing of IVRS 1.0 were: </strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0:\" font_container=\"tag:h5|text_align:left\" letter_spacing=\"\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"1/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>Technical challenges with IVRS 1.0</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\nSeveral merchants were unable to place the call; some due to general reluctance and distrust, others due to no call balance or network. However, most merchants faced technical problems with the IVRS platform which would either be unavailable or not respond to the missed call placed by merchants</li>\r\n	<li>\r\nTesting was conducted in Delhi/NCR and Jaipur. However, the call received on giving a missed call was from a number from Ahmedabad (as the platform was set up by an agency based in Ahmedabad) and, in conjunction with the unfamiliar-looking number, it gave the impression of being a spam/fraud call.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>Merchants felt that they required more in-depth information than merely on requisite digital payment solution options and registration steps to make informed decisions. For example, they would welcome information on money workflow, payment settlement terms, comparison between different payment types, additional layers on bank account set up and linkages, and advice on how to choose between different digital payment options.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Also evident was that the IVRS’ usability needed to be improved through simpler navigation, and options to repeat information rather than an abrupt end to the call. Based on the learnings from IVRS 1.0, it was evident that the IVRS needed a script/content overhaul, basic on-ground marketing support, and a new navigation to highlight content branches as stand-alone repositories of information on various digital payment types. It required modifications to create a more holistic information dissemination platform to aid the decision making process for the listener.\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>The information framework for building IVRS 2.0 was divided into three layers:\r\n\r\n</strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>First layer: Information on payment types based on form, i.e., mobile-based payment solutions (Wallets/UPI/USSD), card-based payment solutions (PoS/m-PoS/Bharat QR) as well as new-age solutions such as Aadhaar Pay and aggregator solutions which accept  payments from all payment options, whether card- or mobile- or Aadhaar-based.</li>\r\n	<li>Second layer: Highlighting the similarities and key differences between payment solution types within the pool of mobile-based and card-based payment solutions.</li>\r\n	<li>Third layer: Important technical information such as onboarding steps, how to accept payment from customers, payment settlement and payment confirmation. This layer also had a provision for merchants to express their interest in the digital payment solution of their choice to get connected with relevant service providers.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<strong>The deployment was an additional opportunity to test the efficacy of the value provision and delivery of the IVRS to all targeted merchant segments. The study sought to measure the following:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li>The level of interest or curiosity regarding digital payments and digital payment solutionsper segment on a platform such as IVRS.</li>\r\n	<li>The value/benefit acquired (post-call) by the merchants.</li>\r\n	<li>Opinions and feedback on delivery of information (appropriate coverage of solution types),delivery medium, information structure (SMS link or follow-up email/call).</li>\r\n	<li>Any key points of interest or knowledge to explore and add to the platform, for example,new payment solutions.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\" bg_image=\"40012\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40007\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Target merchant segments\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547552696927{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>As phase 2, CATALYST developed a dedicated IVRS platform with a different vendor in partnership with the Government of Rajasthan to incorporate learnings from the testing of IVRS 1.0. The major objectives of the new IVRS platform were to:</strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n	<li> Improve awareness/literacy: disseminate awareness about the benefits of digital payments; and familiarize merchants with different types of payment options, ways to sign up as well as the pros and cons of each.</li>\r\n	<li>Generate leads: identify interest from merchants about different solution types and generate leads for solution providers (such as wallet companies, banks, fintech players, etc.).</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<strong>IVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:</strong>\r\n\r\nIVRS 2.0 was deployed in partner ecosystems where CATALYST is functioning in Jaipur, namely:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Top 500 eMitra entrepreneurs based in Jaipur;</li>\r\n	<li>Dairy retailer network of the onboarded distributor(s) of the dairy digitization project; and</li>\r\n	<li>Retailer network of the onboarded pharma distributors of the pharma digitization project</li>\r\n.</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#ce1f3c\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40005\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Learnings from the field (themes and learnings)\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547553343106{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_image=\"7841\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\"]<strong>1. Low trust in automated mechanisms (vs. human interventions)</strong>\r\n\r\nDuring interactions, merchants emphasized that they receive information on digital payment from bank representatives. Merchants frequently talk to these representatives and, as a result, place a certain degree of trust in them. Merchants also unequivocally stated that a customer support team on the back-end could make IVRS more useful so that they could get their doubts cleared and queries answered by the customer support team. Currently IVRS 2.0 does not have this feature.\r\n\r\n<strong>2. Complexity of digital payment solutions</strong>\r\n\r\nMerchants felt that the length and breadth of information on IVRS 2.0 covers all the requisite nuances that govern the choices to be made by them before adopting a digital payment option. However, they felt that they did not have the bandwidth to listen to such as lengthy call; that there would be information drop-offs, given the volume of information. They would be happier with a hardcopy or a visual aid or webpage which can compare various solutions for ease of access and understanding.\r\n\r\n<strong>3. Closing the ‘Awareness to Adoption’ loop</strong>\r\n\r\nConverting awareness on digital payments to action (exploring payment modes for adoption, and so on) is one of the most important levers for expanding the reach of digital payments into the low-income merchant community. Merchants felt that lead generation could prove to be beneficial, as there was no other such service available. It helps them to act on the information and adopt a solution of their choice at their own convenience, which is a huge advantage. Merchants further emphasized that they listen to such information and then forget it when there is no actionable at the end. However, with the lead generation layer, the knowledge they acquire can be put to use instantaneously and thus was of interest to merchants.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#323232\" bg_position_horizontal=\"center\" enable_parallax=\"false\" parallax_speed=\"0.4\" padding_top=\"100\" padding_bottom=\"100\" el_class=\"uppercase\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner content_placement=\"middle\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40006\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conclusion\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff|line_height:32px\" google_fonts=\"font_family:Roboto%20Condensed%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal\" letter_spacing=\"\" css=\".vc_custom_1547553318954{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]During the focus group discussions with merchants, it was revealed that that the IVRS platform as a tool covers digital payments in great detail and captures all the requisite information on important decision making variables when it comes to adoption of digital payments. Merchants perceive the missed call mechanism as advantageous as it enables them to access the platform at their convenience, and find it compelling. However, given the length of the call and complexity of the information, merchants felt that they would be better served if this information was in front of them on a sheet of paper or a webpage which makes it easier to comprehend it.\r\n\r\nBased on these interviews, while the use of IVRS during the intervention was low owing to the length and complexity of information in the calls, the efficacy of IVRS as medium – to create awareness and close the awareness to adoption loop – may be considered significant. With more tailored messaging for different merchant groups in a more crisp format that caters to relevant groups, IVRS could prove to be an effective medium.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][kleo_button title=\"Download\" href=\"https://cashlesscatalyst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/unlocking-finance-small-merchants.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" position=\"center\" size=\"lg\" type=\"boxed-icon\" special=\"no\" icon=\"download\" font_size=\"14\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"pkirbtn\" icon_custom_background=\"#d11e3c\" icon_custom_text=\"#ffffff\"][/vc_column][/vc_row]', 'IVRS-story', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '39978-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-15 11:53:30', '2019-01-15 11:53:30', '', 39978, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/39978-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
