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(40148, 12, '2019-01-18 08:05:54', '2019-01-18 08:05:54', '[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=\"40038\"][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=\"IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH\" 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\"]CATALYST aims to significantly expand the use of digital payments between low-income consumers and merchants. Achieving this vision requires the identification, development, testing and implementation of innovative business models that are also scalable and sustainable. It also requires a conducive policy environment and a significant behavior change from consumers. Given the numerous stakeholders in the payments value chain, scaling new digital solutions requires that multiple coordination problems be addressed. Through this, the need arises for a context-specific approach, and a rigorous well-defined “learning and solving by doing” methodology. Such a methodology captures the adaptive process of innovation in real world settings where intractable challenges are being addressed. This note outlines the method that is specific to such a setting and underlines CATALYST’s learning process comprising rapid, data-driven, test-learn-and-build cycles with the aim to validate various innovative business models around digital payments that can further be scaled.\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=\"AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH\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\"]CATALYST, through its multiple partnerships, serves as an incubator of innovative business models built around digital payments as well as policy field experiments in real-world settings. This ecosystem approach is core to its ability to achieve sustainable impact on the longer-term and catalyze systematic change.\r\n\r\nComplex problems, such as digital payments, often remain unresolved, despite the will to address them. This is because the challenges in resolving them result from interconnectedness and complexities of different actors and aspects. Such challenges need to be studied through the lens of the ecosystem in which they exist. Many actors and factors can influence uptake of digital payments between merchants (supply) and low-income households (demand), or within supply chains. Failure to take into aspects such as the regulatory environment, technology innovation, customer need and constraints, as well as available infrastructure, among other aspects, into consideration would yield very limited impact. Central to the philosophy is blending an entrepreneurial innovative way of thinking with a grass root level approach to doing, to infuse transformative change.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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 SOLVING`` BY DOING MODEL\" 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\"]Addressing issues in real-word ecosystem settings through innovation requires an exploratory as well as an action-oriented method. This allows potential solutions to emerge and their iterative testing until evolution into an optimal solution. Key to the success of this process is a well-defined learning plan and testing in the intended use environment. It is characterized by incremental knowledge production and collaborative learning among various experts (researchers, practitioners, government, technology experts, etc.).\r\n\r\nThe process features the following broad steps:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identification:</strong> Focus on identifying persistent painpoints from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Solution Design:</strong> Collaborative approach to designing a solution and a commitment to an iterative process that allows continuous refinement of the solution. The solution design is based on developing assumptions from theory, practice as well as ensuring a well-defined plan for learning.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Testing and Systematic Inquiry:</strong> Implementing and testing the solution with the relevant partners and in the environment in which it is intended to be further replicated. This step involves systematic inquiry as learnings are derived and iterated accordingly. Clearly defined metrics are put in place to systematically evaluate, implement and improve the digital payment landscape. Information regarding the methods, tools and metrics used in this exercise are detailed in Appendix. A wide range of methods such as pre-post analysis, information triangulation, A/B testing, experimental and participatory research techniques. Research tools such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussion, etc., are used to gather context-rich information and data that are backed by evidence.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Scaling and Replicating:</strong> Devising a plan for scaling and replicating the optimal solution outcome and catalyzing a systematic and sustaining change in systems.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547795402510{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"40138\" 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=\"MERAPAPER: SUBSCRIPTION MODEL FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS CASE STUDY\" 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_custom_heading text=\"Background and context\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Merapaper (now Bix42) is a micro Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, a mobile application that provides digital invoicing and payment service to micro vendors. It focuses on attracting micro vendors whose business has a subscription model of payment. As the first step in this endeavor, it worked towards digitizing billing and invoicing for newspaper vendors, a prominent use case in any geographical area. The solution allowed vendors to keep a track of their consumer base and their respective balances. It generated automatic bills at the end of each month, which reduced the manual labor of maintaining ledgers. In addition, it enabled vendors to send bills to customers via multiple channels of communication such as WhatsApp, email and Short Message Service (SMS). The sections below described the learning by doing process followed by Catalyst.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Identification\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]A digital solution such as the Merapaper application that enables remote payment can ease out the pain in payment collection and accounts reconciliation in a subscription business model. The belief is that, through such a systemized digital subscriptionbased payment mechanism, distributors can realize the value proposition of adopting digital payment mechanisms, thereby eventually growing their business and consumers’ sustain usage as well as adopting digital payment mechanisms for other expenses as well.\r\n\r\nNewspaper distribution is a laborious manual process including daily distribution, invoicing and payment collection. While doorstep newspaper distribution is a streamlined process with a low error rate, the billing for it is largely a paper-driven process, one that is onerous and labor-intensive and can take-up to 10-12 hours every month. The monthly collection of payments is equally cumbersome and requires at least three or four repeat visits to each household. In reality, it takes 20-22 days for a newspaper vendor to recover the revenue for a given month. This also includes manual reconciliation and cash accounting for bookkeeping. A newspaper vendor works on moderate margins and relies heavily on timely consumer payments to maintain business cash flow. There is also an overhead spillage of up to 5 percent due to transportation charges and wages of staff engaged in invoice distribution and payments collection. Lack of awareness about the availability of digital payment options was a major reason for such a low percentage of digitally paying customers.\r\n\r\nMerapaper’s business model targets small vendors who generally belong to low- to middle-income households, and work more than 16 hours every day. Such vendors maintain a daily product purchase cycle. However, the subscription-based customer payment happens once every month or at longer intervals. Hence, these vendors continue to service consumers while extending a minimum of one month’s credit period. It is critical for these vendors to generate enough cash on a daily basis to run their business, make supplier payments and remain afloat.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"The business case for newspaper distributor to go digital\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The newspaper business is an ideal sector for payment and invoice digitization. The following section highlights the challenges faced by newspaper distributors that could be resolved with a solution such as the Merapaper app:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Manual process of invoice generation and payment collection:</strong> Newspaper vendors deliver newspapers on a daily basis to consumer households. They must visit each consumer household in person to collect the payments. Payment collection takes about 20-22 days from the date of invoice generation. And a distributor must allocate three to six hours daily and make two to three repeat visits to successfully complete payment collection for the month. Only 2-3 percent of the consumer base pays digitally.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Manual recording of receipts and reconciliation:</strong> Newspaper vendors maintain ledgers with details regarding bill payments and due amount. This task is a challenge due to its time-intensive nature and has the potential to disrupt a vendor’s working capital if mistakes are made.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Resource allocation and overhead cost:</strong> Big newspaper distributors hire temporary employees to complete the monthly payment collection. Along with employee salary, transportation costs chip away at the thin margins of a newspaper business.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Solution design\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]CATALYST worked with Merapaper to test the possibility of digitizing subscription-based payments. In addition to pilot testing the Merapaper application, we also aimed to test if the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform was appropriate to digitize newspaper subscription payments.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Theory of change\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Collecting payments from consumers is a time- and resource-consuming activity. Distributors struggle with several inconveniences due to cash collection. For example, costumers are sometimes unavailable or low-income subscribers may not have the payment amount available with them.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547558084322{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40141\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=\"Objective\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]In the wake of the given opportunity to digitize payments to newspaper vendors, the objective was to:\r\n\r\ni. Test whether UPI-based remote digital payments are an effective solution for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\nii. Test whether consumers adopt the UPI payment mechanism for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\niii. Understand the impact of UPI-based remote payment mechanism in creating value for distributor and consumer;\r\n\r\niv. Build a process workflow for the newspaper bill payment use case, which can help Merapaper to build a sustained business model; and\r\n\r\nv. Validate if Merapaper’s business model provides value to its distributors as an effective and user-friendly solution with a proposition to scale.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Focus areas\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The pilot was focused on peri-urban communities with household incomes in the range of INR 15,000 to 20,000 per annum with most of the residents employed as daily wage laborers, taxi drivers, and household helps. Four locations with this category of consumer base were suggested to provide a vendor connect in the given location. Of the three vendors engaged, two dropped out half way through the pilot due to a lack of availability. The pilot was finally executed in the Kanakpura locality of Jaipur.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Stakeholder engagement\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Within the subscription-based digital payment ecosystem for newspapers, we engaged with the following key stakeholders.\r\n\r\ni. <strong>Newspaper vendors:</strong> To introduce digital payment option through the Merapaper mobile application and promote incentives and other pilot levers to the consumer base across the identified low-income communities. In addition, vendors also evaluate payment solution during the pilot and adopt a commercial/sustainable business model based on pilot success, during as well as post pilot.\r\n\r\nii. <strong>Solution provider (Merapaper):</strong> To train vendors on application usability; provide a single channel for troubleshooting and grievance redressal; carry out periodic review of progress; and evaluate the need for any iterative change to the process. Finally, based on pilot learnings, the solution provider must develop scalable and sustainable models for large-scale roll out.\r\n\r\niii. <strong>Consumer:</strong> To interact with the vendor to evaluate the need for the solution and to provide feedback on solution features, value-added services and ease of use.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"TESTING AND SYSTEMIC INQUIRY\" 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\"]An iterative process of learning was followed where field implementation and data-driven decision making was efficiently combined for optimal impact. The focus of this approach was to identify means of instilling a behavior shift from cash to digital payments among consumers and small vendors. Presented here is the phase-wise description of the experiment designed for the pilot.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 1: Merchant identification and onboarding\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Phase 1 was initiated with the one-time set up of the process for UPI payment flow, vendor onboarding and registration of the selected distributor. CATALYST had an active role in this phase involving training of the distributor on the usability of UPI apps and onboarding activities.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Pre-post analysis backed by triangulation of information for validation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> In-depth interviews with vendors, distributors, etc. Surveys were conducted to gather preliminary information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Merchant information, business information, consumer base, payment collection data, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 2: Sampling and consumer onboarding:\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]To enhance the pilot’s focus and efficiency, CATALYST, along with the distributors identified a few colonies with a high concentration of the customer base where we could engage with a sample of 300 households.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment collection through UPI:</strong> The distributor then shared his Virtual Payment Address (VPA) along with the monthly invoice to collect payment from the consumer.\r\n\r\n<strong>Consumer onboarding and activation:</strong> The distributor along with a CATALYST agent, conducted his daily payment collection beat, where he introduced the agent to his customers after which the agent briefed these consumers about the benefits of the UPI app and helped them onboard the apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A participatory research technique was employed to gain context-rich insights from the vendor for the solution design. Information collected through the surveys was incorporated into the pre-post analysis.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Consumers were introduced to enumerators for the preliminary survey and awareness creation; in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation were also carried out to understand motivation and perception.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Consumer household data, vendor consumer-base information, payment practices, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 3: Handholding and triability\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<p>Upon successful registration on UPI, consumers were nudged by the vendor to make their current month’s payment using UPI apps.</p>\r\n<p><strong>Payment reconciliation:</strong> Merapaper used consumer details (name and VPA) recorded during onboarding to manually reconcile the UPI payments daily and then reflect and update the same information on the distributor’s MeraPaper balance sheet (dashboard).</p>\r\n<p><strong>Methods:</strong> A/B testing was incorporated to understand adoptability and usability of the mobile application and UPI payment triangulation\r\nof data to understand digital payment viability for subscription-based payments.</p>\r\n<p><strong>Tools:</strong> Focus group discussions with the vendor and consumers were conducted; participatory and non-participatory observation of payment and collection behaviour was conducted.</p>\r\n<p><strong>Metrics:</strong> Transactional data; payment practices; mobile application and UPI adoption and usage, etc.</p>[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 4: Behavioral shift and monitoring\" 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_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]', 'IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40130-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 08:05:54', '2019-01-18 08:05:54', '', 40130, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40130-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40149, 23, '2019-01-18 08:20:00', '2019-01-18 08:20:00', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"WOMEN IN BHATTA BASTI: THE CONTEXT\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\"]Bhatta Basti comprises women (and households) who belong to the lower socioeconomic strata of society – about 70 percent of the 190 surveyed women belonged to the scheduled castes/tribes or other backward castes, while 13 percent were categorized as minorities. At an average age of 35 and most of them married, these women support their household incomes through their employment in the four categories mentioned above. The average Bhatta Basti woman is literate without formal schooling; the education level is fairly comparable to their male counterparts in the locality.\r\n\r\nAadhaar penetration in the surveyed sample was almost universal at 99 percent, followed by 87 percent coverage of voter IDs and 74 percent Bhamashah (the Government of Rajasthan benefits program) card holders. Eighty-nine percent respondents reported having bank accounts with 87 percent of those linked to Aadhaar numbers. While bank account access and linkage was high, consistent usage was low; more than half of the respondents indicated not using their accounts in the past month and very few using banks to deposit their own savings. Very limited information was available on receipt of government benefits due to poor recall and/or privacy concerns of respondents.\r\n\r\nWomen in Bhatta Basti actively engaged in the economic lives of their families. While access to cash for household payments varies by purchase type, most women reported making payments on their own for daily household items, while some women even made payments for big utility items, including refrigerators and electronics. These women also indicated their willingness to use their own mobile phones, and also adopt digital payments. However, all reported payments use cases so far remained cash-based.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"ECOSYSTEM RELATIONSHIPS AND MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]In this context of women in lower-income households who earn a considerable income and make day-to-day financial decisions, gender dynamics also come into play as these groups tend to follow traditionally patriarchal customs. Certain norms and implicit rules preserve the fabric of their socioeconomic lifestyle which has to be taken into account if the prevalent ecosystem has to be recreated digitally. Two important heuristics relevant to the digital payment context, based on qualitative insights, are described below.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 1: Ownership matters\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Since digital payments rely on digital infrastructure – bank accounts, smartphones and internet connection, primarily. Digital financial inclusion at an individual level means individual ownership of these.\r\n\r\nAs one would expect, going higher up on the economic ladder, the ownership of products and services becomes individual centered. Lower income means shared ownership to cut costs. Power comes into play and, typically, even if the household as a group owns two gadgets, it is clear that the member who holds more agency and autonomy will own the smartphone. It was found that this was not about gender alone but also dependent on occupations. Women selling old clothes, for example, held equal (if not more) agency and autonomy than men in the family than their counterparts who make bangles. This was because of the former had more independence in carrying out their businesses while the latter and were completely dependent on their agents.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The gender context: If all digital products and services were, by default, centered on the use of smartphones and smartphone ownership was with men, the first step would be to strongly incentivize co-ownership for transactions alone. The man in the household, who might have ownership of the phone, needs to be convinced that he is a partner in progress of the household when the woman is able to use the phone for making digital payments through her accounts.</li>\r\n 	<li>The occupation context: In occupations where women hold equal agency and autonomy, a targeted intensive handholding approach could be devised. Since women showed an overwhelming willingness to learn, identifying women who could be champions of digital payments and handhold others could be the way forward to gain trust and manage cultural sensitivity.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 2: Employer-employee relationships\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]There are also subtle but powerful dynamics between these women and their employers, particularly in cases where agency of the employee is important for the employer, for example, domestic workers. In a domestic worker-employer relationship, the pain-points for the employer, in most instances, are inconsistent patterns of leave and delay in work times. The pain-point for domestic workers lies in communicating about work delays and/or leave on time. The domestic workers earn an average of about INR 3,000 from about three to five employers. A digital solution can allow these women to consolidate payments from their employers, keep track of their schedules and leave, at the same time, keeping the employers informed about potential delays or leave.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Rather than a narrow focus on digital payments, think of the employer-employee relationship as an opportunity for a bundle of services. Incentivize the employers, to encourage them to make digital payments to domestic workers. Incentivize workers by giving them talk time reimbursements, or variable pay based on leave taken or any such mutually fair benefit.</li>\r\n 	<li>Link all payments and government transfers to the account being used for salary transfers. Many government benefit transfers go unnoticed and unused in the bank accounts because the beneficiaries do not use their accounts and are unaware of their balance.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 08:20:00', '2019-01-18 08:20:00', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40150, 23, '2019-01-18 09:06:15', '2019-01-18 09:06:15', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Executive Summary\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nEvidence suggests that the use of digital financial services can offer benefits such as increased financial transparency, accountability and inclusion. ¹For customers to adopt these solutions, however, it is very important that they see value in these solutions and have the ability and willingness to change their existing habit. This paper elaborates our learnings from experiments deployed by us to improve the uptake of digital payments and promote digital financial inclusion of the population. Some key insights from our field work and interactions with stakeholders include:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>1. Both the end-consumers and the merchants aren’t proactively looking for digital financial solutions, so the hook to adopt these will have to be very strong. It must be a solution that meets a specific personal need for it to be relevant.</li>\r\n 	<li>2. Digital financial services are seen as a ‘double-edged sword’ - While majority agree that digital payments and services are convenient and helpful, there is a perceived risk to one’s money due to mistrust in using technology for finances and lack of confidence in their data being kept private. It is very important for the solutions, communication channels and influencers to be trust-worthy to drive adoption.</li>\r\n 	<li>3. Another aspect that is critical to build customers’ trust is seamless alignment of solutions with emerging technologies. Currently, there are many teething problems with some of the nascent technologies that use UPI or AEPS. If solution providers cannot fix these issues, these liabilities should be clearly defined and communicated to the customers – so that there is no lack of trust later.</li>\r\n 	<li>4. Adoption of digital financial services is directly proportional to a customer’s familiarity with technology and his/her state of financial inclusion. Taking a low-income individuals on the route to digital financial inclusion, who may or may not have bank accounts to begin with, is a long-drawn process requiring sustained interventions. It is therefore important to first identify the early adopters - example someone who is actively banking and has a smartphone -as they will be more open to change. Once onboarded, they can be the change-agents in networks where they are trusted.</li>\r\n 	<li>5. Merchants are ready and willing to offer any digital payment solution that the consumers ask for, but the push must be driven by consumers’ demand for it so that it improves their business. Therefore, the initial capability focus for the solution providers should be end-consumers as it is their interest and intent that will decide the merchants’ interest.</li>\r\n 	<li>6. Taking financial decisions is, in general, perceived to be a complex task – especially by women where they pass on the task to men of the household. There could be various societal norms at play here, but it is very important to take out the complexity from matters related to money. Simple digital solutions can help boost confidence of women and others who might be finding financial decisions complex, in general, and address this need for simplicity in finance.</li>\r\n 	<li>7. Once people convert to digital payments, they sustain this behavior easily. It requires substantial time and effort to communicate benefits and handhold a consumer to onboard a new digital payments platform. However, once they are onboarded and have personally experienced the convenience of digital payment solutions, people continue to use them.</li>\r\n 	<li>8. Integrated digital financial inclusion programs should focus on the entire cycle from awareness to sustained change with a specific solution at every step.</li>\r\n 	<li>9. Finally, to communicate various value propositions and build digital financial capabilities of customers, CATALYST used different channels to reach out to them. We found that a mix of social media and interpersonal channels is important to reach different profiles of people (youth, working men, self-employed women, housewives) who would be at different stages of the adoption curve. For merchants, since they have little active interest in digital payments currently, the format needs to be trusted, easy, engaging and, most importantly, backed by support.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<a href=\"http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution\">http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution</a>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"ECOSYSTEM RELATIONSHIPS AND MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]In this context of women in lower-income households who earn a considerable income and make day-to-day financial decisions, gender dynamics also come into play as these groups tend to follow traditionally patriarchal customs. Certain norms and implicit rules preserve the fabric of their socioeconomic lifestyle which has to be taken into account if the prevalent ecosystem has to be recreated digitally. Two important heuristics relevant to the digital payment context, based on qualitative insights, are described below.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 1: Ownership matters\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Since digital payments rely on digital infrastructure – bank accounts, smartphones and internet connection, primarily. Digital financial inclusion at an individual level means individual ownership of these.\r\n\r\nAs one would expect, going higher up on the economic ladder, the ownership of products and services becomes individual centered. Lower income means shared ownership to cut costs. Power comes into play and, typically, even if the household as a group owns two gadgets, it is clear that the member who holds more agency and autonomy will own the smartphone. It was found that this was not about gender alone but also dependent on occupations. Women selling old clothes, for example, held equal (if not more) agency and autonomy than men in the family than their counterparts who make bangles. This was because of the former had more independence in carrying out their businesses while the latter and were completely dependent on their agents.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The gender context: If all digital products and services were, by default, centered on the use of smartphones and smartphone ownership was with men, the first step would be to strongly incentivize co-ownership for transactions alone. The man in the household, who might have ownership of the phone, needs to be convinced that he is a partner in progress of the household when the woman is able to use the phone for making digital payments through her accounts.</li>\r\n 	<li>The occupation context: In occupations where women hold equal agency and autonomy, a targeted intensive handholding approach could be devised. Since women showed an overwhelming willingness to learn, identifying women who could be champions of digital payments and handhold others could be the way forward to gain trust and manage cultural sensitivity.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 2: Employer-employee relationships\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]There are also subtle but powerful dynamics between these women and their employers, particularly in cases where agency of the employee is important for the employer, for example, domestic workers. In a domestic worker-employer relationship, the pain-points for the employer, in most instances, are inconsistent patterns of leave and delay in work times. The pain-point for domestic workers lies in communicating about work delays and/or leave on time. The domestic workers earn an average of about INR 3,000 from about three to five employers. A digital solution can allow these women to consolidate payments from their employers, keep track of their schedules and leave, at the same time, keeping the employers informed about potential delays or leave.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Rather than a narrow focus on digital payments, think of the employer-employee relationship as an opportunity for a bundle of services. Incentivize the employers, to encourage them to make digital payments to domestic workers. Incentivize workers by giving them talk time reimbursements, or variable pay based on leave taken or any such mutually fair benefit.</li>\r\n 	<li>Link all payments and government transfers to the account being used for salary transfers. Many government benefit transfers go unnoticed and unused in the bank accounts because the beneficiaries do not use their accounts and are unaware of their balance.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:06:15', '2019-01-18 09:06:15', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40151, 23, '2019-01-18 09:07:50', '2019-01-18 09:07:50', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Executive Summary\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nEvidence suggests that the use of digital financial services can offer benefits such as increased financial transparency, accountability and inclusion. ¹For customers to adopt these solutions, however, it is very important that they see value in these solutions and have the ability and willingness to change their existing habit. This paper elaborates our learnings from experiments deployed by us to improve the uptake of digital payments and promote digital financial inclusion of the population. Some key insights from our field work and interactions with stakeholders include:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Both the end-consumers and the merchants aren’t proactively looking for digital financial solutions, so the hook to adopt these will have to be very strong. It must be a solution that meets a specific personal need for it to be relevant.</li>\r\n 	<li>Digital financial services are seen as a ‘double-edged sword’ - While majority agree that digital payments and services are convenient and helpful, there is a perceived risk to one’s money due to mistrust in using technology for finances and lack of confidence in their data being kept private. It is very important for the solutions, communication channels and influencers to be trust-worthy to drive adoption.</li>\r\n 	<li>Another aspect that is critical to build customers’ trust is seamless alignment of solutions with emerging technologies. Currently, there are many teething problems with some of the nascent technologies that use UPI or AEPS. If solution providers cannot fix these issues, these liabilities should be clearly defined and communicated to the customers – so that there is no lack of trust later.</li>\r\n 	<li>Adoption of digital financial services is directly proportional to a customer’s familiarity with technology and his/her state of financial inclusion. Taking a low-income individuals on the route to digital financial inclusion, who may or may not have bank accounts to begin with, is a long-drawn process requiring sustained interventions. It is therefore important to first identify the early adopters - example someone who is actively banking and has a smartphone -as they will be more open to change. Once onboarded, they can be the change-agents in networks where they are trusted.</li>\r\n 	<li>Merchants are ready and willing to offer any digital payment solution that the consumers ask for, but the push must be driven by consumers’ demand for it so that it improves their business. Therefore, the initial capability focus for the solution providers should be end-consumers as it is their interest and intent that will decide the merchants’ interest.</li>\r\n 	<li>Taking financial decisions is, in general, perceived to be a complex task – especially by women where they pass on the task to men of the household. There could be various societal norms at play here, but it is very important to take out the complexity from matters related to money. Simple digital solutions can help boost confidence of women and others who might be finding financial decisions complex, in general, and address this need for simplicity in finance.</li>\r\n 	<li>Once people convert to digital payments, they sustain this behavior easily. It requires substantial time and effort to communicate benefits and handhold a consumer to onboard a new digital payments platform. However, once they are onboarded and have personally experienced the convenience of digital payment solutions, people continue to use them.</li>\r\n 	<li>Integrated digital financial inclusion programs should focus on the entire cycle from awareness to sustained change with a specific solution at every step.</li>\r\n 	<li>Finally, to communicate various value propositions and build digital financial capabilities of customers, CATALYST used different channels to reach out to them. We found that a mix of social media and interpersonal channels is important to reach different profiles of people (youth, working men, self-employed women, housewives) who would be at different stages of the adoption curve. For merchants, since they have little active interest in digital payments currently, the format needs to be trusted, easy, engaging and, most importantly, backed by support.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<a href=\"http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution\">http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution</a>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"ECOSYSTEM RELATIONSHIPS AND MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]In this context of women in lower-income households who earn a considerable income and make day-to-day financial decisions, gender dynamics also come into play as these groups tend to follow traditionally patriarchal customs. Certain norms and implicit rules preserve the fabric of their socioeconomic lifestyle which has to be taken into account if the prevalent ecosystem has to be recreated digitally. Two important heuristics relevant to the digital payment context, based on qualitative insights, are described below.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 1: Ownership matters\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Since digital payments rely on digital infrastructure – bank accounts, smartphones and internet connection, primarily. Digital financial inclusion at an individual level means individual ownership of these.\r\n\r\nAs one would expect, going higher up on the economic ladder, the ownership of products and services becomes individual centered. Lower income means shared ownership to cut costs. Power comes into play and, typically, even if the household as a group owns two gadgets, it is clear that the member who holds more agency and autonomy will own the smartphone. It was found that this was not about gender alone but also dependent on occupations. Women selling old clothes, for example, held equal (if not more) agency and autonomy than men in the family than their counterparts who make bangles. This was because of the former had more independence in carrying out their businesses while the latter and were completely dependent on their agents.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The gender context: If all digital products and services were, by default, centered on the use of smartphones and smartphone ownership was with men, the first step would be to strongly incentivize co-ownership for transactions alone. The man in the household, who might have ownership of the phone, needs to be convinced that he is a partner in progress of the household when the woman is able to use the phone for making digital payments through her accounts.</li>\r\n 	<li>The occupation context: In occupations where women hold equal agency and autonomy, a targeted intensive handholding approach could be devised. Since women showed an overwhelming willingness to learn, identifying women who could be champions of digital payments and handhold others could be the way forward to gain trust and manage cultural sensitivity.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 2: Employer-employee relationships\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]There are also subtle but powerful dynamics between these women and their employers, particularly in cases where agency of the employee is important for the employer, for example, domestic workers. In a domestic worker-employer relationship, the pain-points for the employer, in most instances, are inconsistent patterns of leave and delay in work times. The pain-point for domestic workers lies in communicating about work delays and/or leave on time. The domestic workers earn an average of about INR 3,000 from about three to five employers. A digital solution can allow these women to consolidate payments from their employers, keep track of their schedules and leave, at the same time, keeping the employers informed about potential delays or leave.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Rather than a narrow focus on digital payments, think of the employer-employee relationship as an opportunity for a bundle of services. Incentivize the employers, to encourage them to make digital payments to domestic workers. Incentivize workers by giving them talk time reimbursements, or variable pay based on leave taken or any such mutually fair benefit.</li>\r\n 	<li>Link all payments and government transfers to the account being used for salary transfers. Many government benefit transfers go unnoticed and unused in the bank accounts because the beneficiaries do not use their accounts and are unaware of their balance.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:07:50', '2019-01-18 09:07:50', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(40156, 23, '2019-01-18 09:45:22', '2019-01-18 09:45:22', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Executive Summary\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nEvidence suggests that the use of digital financial services can offer benefits such as increased financial transparency, accountability and inclusion. ¹For customers to adopt these solutions, however, it is very important that they see value in these solutions and have the ability and willingness to change their existing habit. This paper elaborates our learnings from experiments deployed by us to improve the uptake of digital payments and promote digital financial inclusion of the population. Some key insights from our field work and interactions with stakeholders include:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Both the end-consumers and the merchants aren’t proactively looking for digital financial solutions, so the hook to adopt these will have to be very strong. It must be a solution that meets a specific personal need for it to be relevant.</li>\r\n 	<li>Digital financial services are seen as a ‘double-edged sword’ - While majority agree that digital payments and services are convenient and helpful, there is a perceived risk to one’s money due to mistrust in using technology for finances and lack of confidence in their data being kept private. It is very important for the solutions, communication channels and influencers to be trust-worthy to drive adoption.</li>\r\n 	<li>Another aspect that is critical to build customers’ trust is seamless alignment of solutions with emerging technologies. Currently, there are many teething problems with some of the nascent technologies that use UPI or AEPS. If solution providers cannot fix these issues, these liabilities should be clearly defined and communicated to the customers – so that there is no lack of trust later.</li>\r\n 	<li>Adoption of digital financial services is directly proportional to a customer’s familiarity with technology and his/her state of financial inclusion. Taking a low-income individuals on the route to digital financial inclusion, who may or may not have bank accounts to begin with, is a long-drawn process requiring sustained interventions. It is therefore important to first identify the early adopters - example someone who is actively banking and has a smartphone -as they will be more open to change. Once onboarded, they can be the change-agents in networks where they are trusted.</li>\r\n 	<li>Merchants are ready and willing to offer any digital payment solution that the consumers ask for, but the push must be driven by consumers’ demand for it so that it improves their business. Therefore, the initial capability focus for the solution providers should be end-consumers as it is their interest and intent that will decide the merchants’ interest.</li>\r\n 	<li>Taking financial decisions is, in general, perceived to be a complex task – especially by women where they pass on the task to men of the household. There could be various societal norms at play here, but it is very important to take out the complexity from matters related to money. Simple digital solutions can help boost confidence of women and others who might be finding financial decisions complex, in general, and address this need for simplicity in finance.</li>\r\n 	<li>Once people convert to digital payments, they sustain this behavior easily. It requires substantial time and effort to communicate benefits and handhold a consumer to onboard a new digital payments platform. However, once they are onboarded and have personally experienced the convenience of digital payment solutions, people continue to use them.</li>\r\n 	<li>Integrated digital financial inclusion programs should focus on the entire cycle from awareness to sustained change with a specific solution at every step.</li>\r\n 	<li>Finally, to communicate various value propositions and build digital financial capabilities of customers, CATALYST used different channels to reach out to them. We found that a mix of social media and interpersonal channels is important to reach different profiles of people (youth, working men, self-employed women, housewives) who would be at different stages of the adoption curve. For merchants, since they have little active interest in digital payments currently, the format needs to be trusted, easy, engaging and, most importantly, backed by support.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<a href=\"http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution\">http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution</a>\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<div>Figure 1: The adoption continuum and learnings</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=\"40152\" alignment=\"center\"][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. What is digital financial capability and why is it important?\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nThere are numerous examples from different countries that show how digital finance helped unpack different benefits and had a positive impact on important indicators like increased financial resilience or gender equality. In Kenya, for instance, access to Kenyan mobile money system M-Pesa extended financial services to the unbanked population at a very low cost. It provided them with a more affordable payments system, improved their financial behavior and increased the financial resilience of the households. It lifted 194,000 households out of poverty and especially worked for women, who moved out of agriculture and into other businesses.² Similarly, in Mexico, digital financial inclusion and the increased transparency that came with it allowed KuboFinanciero to offer peer-to-peer lending platforms. The middle class and wealthier borrowers could connect with small businesses and households and offer them credit post assessing their profiles and risks. Therefore, the benefits of digital finance, in the long term go beyond just increasing convenience of transactions or driving down costs.\r\n\r\nHowever, adoption of digital financial services requires a change in existing behavior – of consumers and of merchants. It requires people to change their existing habit of using cash and hence it is important for any solution provider to first understand the barriers to change and next work out the nudges that result in behavior change. To come up with targeted solutions for customers, it is important to first understand how they think, make decisions and behave. Better understanding of human behavior and reasons behind their actions can lead to better design solutions. “The ability to understand what products and how they can be used to inculcate habit-forming behaviors in your target customer base can lead to the design of a sustaining product,” says Nir Eyal, author of How to Build Habit-forming Products.\r\n\r\nAt CATALYST, we realized that to bring about a behavioral shift from cash to digital payments and to ensure integrated financial inclusion, we would first need to understand our target audience (merchants and end-consumers), their triggers and barriers towards digital financial services and then influence their behavior by improving their digital financial capability (DFC).\r\n\r\n² Suri, T. and William Jack <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27940873\">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27940873</a> December 9, 2016\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. Overview\" 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=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:45:22', '2019-01-18 09:45:22', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40153, 23, '2019-01-18 09:27:45', '2019-01-18 09:27:45', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Executive Summary\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nEvidence suggests that the use of digital financial services can offer benefits such as increased financial transparency, accountability and inclusion. ¹For customers to adopt these solutions, however, it is very important that they see value in these solutions and have the ability and willingness to change their existing habit. This paper elaborates our learnings from experiments deployed by us to improve the uptake of digital payments and promote digital financial inclusion of the population. Some key insights from our field work and interactions with stakeholders include:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Both the end-consumers and the merchants aren’t proactively looking for digital financial solutions, so the hook to adopt these will have to be very strong. It must be a solution that meets a specific personal need for it to be relevant.</li>\r\n 	<li>Digital financial services are seen as a ‘double-edged sword’ - While majority agree that digital payments and services are convenient and helpful, there is a perceived risk to one’s money due to mistrust in using technology for finances and lack of confidence in their data being kept private. It is very important for the solutions, communication channels and influencers to be trust-worthy to drive adoption.</li>\r\n 	<li>Another aspect that is critical to build customers’ trust is seamless alignment of solutions with emerging technologies. Currently, there are many teething problems with some of the nascent technologies that use UPI or AEPS. If solution providers cannot fix these issues, these liabilities should be clearly defined and communicated to the customers – so that there is no lack of trust later.</li>\r\n 	<li>Adoption of digital financial services is directly proportional to a customer’s familiarity with technology and his/her state of financial inclusion. Taking a low-income individuals on the route to digital financial inclusion, who may or may not have bank accounts to begin with, is a long-drawn process requiring sustained interventions. It is therefore important to first identify the early adopters - example someone who is actively banking and has a smartphone -as they will be more open to change. Once onboarded, they can be the change-agents in networks where they are trusted.</li>\r\n 	<li>Merchants are ready and willing to offer any digital payment solution that the consumers ask for, but the push must be driven by consumers’ demand for it so that it improves their business. Therefore, the initial capability focus for the solution providers should be end-consumers as it is their interest and intent that will decide the merchants’ interest.</li>\r\n 	<li>Taking financial decisions is, in general, perceived to be a complex task – especially by women where they pass on the task to men of the household. There could be various societal norms at play here, but it is very important to take out the complexity from matters related to money. Simple digital solutions can help boost confidence of women and others who might be finding financial decisions complex, in general, and address this need for simplicity in finance.</li>\r\n 	<li>Once people convert to digital payments, they sustain this behavior easily. It requires substantial time and effort to communicate benefits and handhold a consumer to onboard a new digital payments platform. However, once they are onboarded and have personally experienced the convenience of digital payment solutions, people continue to use them.</li>\r\n 	<li>Integrated digital financial inclusion programs should focus on the entire cycle from awareness to sustained change with a specific solution at every step.</li>\r\n 	<li>Finally, to communicate various value propositions and build digital financial capabilities of customers, CATALYST used different channels to reach out to them. We found that a mix of social media and interpersonal channels is important to reach different profiles of people (youth, working men, self-employed women, housewives) who would be at different stages of the adoption curve. For merchants, since they have little active interest in digital payments currently, the format needs to be trusted, easy, engaging and, most importantly, backed by support.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<a href=\"http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution\">http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution</a>\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<div>Figure 1: The adoption continuum and learnings</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=\"40152\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"ECOSYSTEM RELATIONSHIPS AND MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]In this context of women in lower-income households who earn a considerable income and make day-to-day financial decisions, gender dynamics also come into play as these groups tend to follow traditionally patriarchal customs. Certain norms and implicit rules preserve the fabric of their socioeconomic lifestyle which has to be taken into account if the prevalent ecosystem has to be recreated digitally. Two important heuristics relevant to the digital payment context, based on qualitative insights, are described below.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 1: Ownership matters\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Since digital payments rely on digital infrastructure – bank accounts, smartphones and internet connection, primarily. Digital financial inclusion at an individual level means individual ownership of these.\r\n\r\nAs one would expect, going higher up on the economic ladder, the ownership of products and services becomes individual centered. Lower income means shared ownership to cut costs. Power comes into play and, typically, even if the household as a group owns two gadgets, it is clear that the member who holds more agency and autonomy will own the smartphone. It was found that this was not about gender alone but also dependent on occupations. Women selling old clothes, for example, held equal (if not more) agency and autonomy than men in the family than their counterparts who make bangles. This was because of the former had more independence in carrying out their businesses while the latter and were completely dependent on their agents.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>The gender context: If all digital products and services were, by default, centered on the use of smartphones and smartphone ownership was with men, the first step would be to strongly incentivize co-ownership for transactions alone. The man in the household, who might have ownership of the phone, needs to be convinced that he is a partner in progress of the household when the woman is able to use the phone for making digital payments through her accounts.</li>\r\n 	<li>The occupation context: In occupations where women hold equal agency and autonomy, a targeted intensive handholding approach could be devised. Since women showed an overwhelming willingness to learn, identifying women who could be champions of digital payments and handhold others could be the way forward to gain trust and manage cultural sensitivity.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Heuristic 2: Employer-employee relationships\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]There are also subtle but powerful dynamics between these women and their employers, particularly in cases where agency of the employee is important for the employer, for example, domestic workers. In a domestic worker-employer relationship, the pain-points for the employer, in most instances, are inconsistent patterns of leave and delay in work times. The pain-point for domestic workers lies in communicating about work delays and/or leave on time. The domestic workers earn an average of about INR 3,000 from about three to five employers. A digital solution can allow these women to consolidate payments from their employers, keep track of their schedules and leave, at the same time, keeping the employers informed about potential delays or leave.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Implications\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Rather than a narrow focus on digital payments, think of the employer-employee relationship as an opportunity for a bundle of services. Incentivize the employers, to encourage them to make digital payments to domestic workers. Incentivize workers by giving them talk time reimbursements, or variable pay based on leave taken or any such mutually fair benefit.</li>\r\n 	<li>Link all payments and government transfers to the account being used for salary transfers. Many government benefit transfers go unnoticed and unused in the bank accounts because the beneficiaries do not use their accounts and are unaware of their balance.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:27:45', '2019-01-18 09:27:45', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40159, 12, '2019-01-18 09:52:44', '2019-01-18 09:52:44', '[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=\"40038\"][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=\"IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH\" 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\"]CATALYST aims to significantly expand the use of digital payments between low-income consumers and merchants. Achieving this vision requires the identification, development, testing and implementation of innovative business models that are also scalable and sustainable. It also requires a conducive policy environment and a significant behavior change from consumers. Given the numerous stakeholders in the payments value chain, scaling new digital solutions requires that multiple coordination problems be addressed. Through this, the need arises for a context-specific approach, and a rigorous well-defined “learning and solving by doing” methodology. Such a methodology captures the adaptive process of innovation in real world settings where intractable challenges are being addressed. This note outlines the method that is specific to such a setting and underlines CATALYST’s learning process comprising rapid, data-driven, test-learn-and-build cycles with the aim to validate various innovative business models around digital payments that can further be scaled.\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=\"AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH\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\"]CATALYST, through its multiple partnerships, serves as an incubator of innovative business models built around digital payments as well as policy field experiments in real-world settings. This ecosystem approach is core to its ability to achieve sustainable impact on the longer-term and catalyze systematic change.\r\n\r\nComplex problems, such as digital payments, often remain unresolved, despite the will to address them. This is because the challenges in resolving them result from interconnectedness and complexities of different actors and aspects. Such challenges need to be studied through the lens of the ecosystem in which they exist. Many actors and factors can influence uptake of digital payments between merchants (supply) and low-income households (demand), or within supply chains. Failure to take into aspects such as the regulatory environment, technology innovation, customer need and constraints, as well as available infrastructure, among other aspects, into consideration would yield very limited impact. Central to the philosophy is blending an entrepreneurial innovative way of thinking with a grass root level approach to doing, to infuse transformative change.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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 SOLVING`` BY DOING MODEL\" 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\"]Addressing issues in real-word ecosystem settings through innovation requires an exploratory as well as an action-oriented method. This allows potential solutions to emerge and their iterative testing until evolution into an optimal solution. Key to the success of this process is a well-defined learning plan and testing in the intended use environment. It is characterized by incremental knowledge production and collaborative learning among various experts (researchers, practitioners, government, technology experts, etc.).\r\n\r\nThe process features the following broad steps:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identification:</strong> Focus on identifying persistent painpoints from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Solution Design:</strong> Collaborative approach to designing a solution and a commitment to an iterative process that allows continuous refinement of the solution. The solution design is based on developing assumptions from theory, practice as well as ensuring a well-defined plan for learning.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Testing and Systematic Inquiry:</strong> Implementing and testing the solution with the relevant partners and in the environment in which it is intended to be further replicated. This step involves systematic inquiry as learnings are derived and iterated accordingly. Clearly defined metrics are put in place to systematically evaluate, implement and improve the digital payment landscape. Information regarding the methods, tools and metrics used in this exercise are detailed in Appendix. A wide range of methods such as pre-post analysis, information triangulation, A/B testing, experimental and participatory research techniques. Research tools such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussion, etc., are used to gather context-rich information and data that are backed by evidence.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Scaling and Replicating:</strong> Devising a plan for scaling and replicating the optimal solution outcome and catalyzing a systematic and sustaining change in systems.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547795402510{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"40138\" 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=\"MERAPAPER: SUBSCRIPTION MODEL FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS CASE STUDY\" 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_custom_heading text=\"Background and context\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Merapaper (now Bix42) is a micro Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, a mobile application that provides digital invoicing and payment service to micro vendors. It focuses on attracting micro vendors whose business has a subscription model of payment. As the first step in this endeavor, it worked towards digitizing billing and invoicing for newspaper vendors, a prominent use case in any geographical area. The solution allowed vendors to keep a track of their consumer base and their respective balances. It generated automatic bills at the end of each month, which reduced the manual labor of maintaining ledgers. In addition, it enabled vendors to send bills to customers via multiple channels of communication such as WhatsApp, email and Short Message Service (SMS). The sections below described the learning by doing process followed by Catalyst.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Identification\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]A digital solution such as the Merapaper application that enables remote payment can ease out the pain in payment collection and accounts reconciliation in a subscription business model. The belief is that, through such a systemized digital subscriptionbased payment mechanism, distributors can realize the value proposition of adopting digital payment mechanisms, thereby eventually growing their business and consumers’ sustain usage as well as adopting digital payment mechanisms for other expenses as well.\r\n\r\nNewspaper distribution is a laborious manual process including daily distribution, invoicing and payment collection. While doorstep newspaper distribution is a streamlined process with a low error rate, the billing for it is largely a paper-driven process, one that is onerous and labor-intensive and can take-up to 10-12 hours every month. The monthly collection of payments is equally cumbersome and requires at least three or four repeat visits to each household. In reality, it takes 20-22 days for a newspaper vendor to recover the revenue for a given month. This also includes manual reconciliation and cash accounting for bookkeeping. A newspaper vendor works on moderate margins and relies heavily on timely consumer payments to maintain business cash flow. There is also an overhead spillage of up to 5 percent due to transportation charges and wages of staff engaged in invoice distribution and payments collection. Lack of awareness about the availability of digital payment options was a major reason for such a low percentage of digitally paying customers.\r\n\r\nMerapaper’s business model targets small vendors who generally belong to low- to middle-income households, and work more than 16 hours every day. Such vendors maintain a daily product purchase cycle. However, the subscription-based customer payment happens once every month or at longer intervals. Hence, these vendors continue to service consumers while extending a minimum of one month’s credit period. It is critical for these vendors to generate enough cash on a daily basis to run their business, make supplier payments and remain afloat.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"The business case for newspaper distributor to go digital\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The newspaper business is an ideal sector for payment and invoice digitization. The following section highlights the challenges faced by newspaper distributors that could be resolved with a solution such as the Merapaper app:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Manual process of invoice generation and payment collection:</strong> Newspaper vendors deliver newspapers on a daily basis to consumer households. They must visit each consumer household in person to collect the payments. Payment collection takes about 20-22 days from the date of invoice generation. And a distributor must allocate three to six hours daily and make two to three repeat visits to successfully complete payment collection for the month. Only 2-3 percent of the consumer base pays digitally.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Manual recording of receipts and reconciliation:</strong> Newspaper vendors maintain ledgers with details regarding bill payments and due amount. This task is a challenge due to its time-intensive nature and has the potential to disrupt a vendor’s working capital if mistakes are made.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Resource allocation and overhead cost:</strong> Big newspaper distributors hire temporary employees to complete the monthly payment collection. Along with employee salary, transportation costs chip away at the thin margins of a newspaper business.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Solution design\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]CATALYST worked with Merapaper to test the possibility of digitizing subscription-based payments. In addition to pilot testing the Merapaper application, we also aimed to test if the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform was appropriate to digitize newspaper subscription payments.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Theory of change\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Collecting payments from consumers is a time- and resource-consuming activity. Distributors struggle with several inconveniences due to cash collection. For example, costumers are sometimes unavailable or low-income subscribers may not have the payment amount available with them.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547558084322{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40141\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=\"Objective\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]In the wake of the given opportunity to digitize payments to newspaper vendors, the objective was to:\r\n\r\ni. Test whether UPI-based remote digital payments are an effective solution for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\nii. Test whether consumers adopt the UPI payment mechanism for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\niii. Understand the impact of UPI-based remote payment mechanism in creating value for distributor and consumer;\r\n\r\niv. Build a process workflow for the newspaper bill payment use case, which can help Merapaper to build a sustained business model; and\r\n\r\nv. Validate if Merapaper’s business model provides value to its distributors as an effective and user-friendly solution with a proposition to scale.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Focus areas\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The pilot was focused on peri-urban communities with household incomes in the range of INR 15,000 to 20,000 per annum with most of the residents employed as daily wage laborers, taxi drivers, and household helps. Four locations with this category of consumer base were suggested to provide a vendor connect in the given location. Of the three vendors engaged, two dropped out half way through the pilot due to a lack of availability. The pilot was finally executed in the Kanakpura locality of Jaipur.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Stakeholder engagement\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Within the subscription-based digital payment ecosystem for newspapers, we engaged with the following key stakeholders.\r\n\r\ni. <strong>Newspaper vendors:</strong> To introduce digital payment option through the Merapaper mobile application and promote incentives and other pilot levers to the consumer base across the identified low-income communities. In addition, vendors also evaluate payment solution during the pilot and adopt a commercial/sustainable business model based on pilot success, during as well as post pilot.\r\n\r\nii. <strong>Solution provider (Merapaper):</strong> To train vendors on application usability; provide a single channel for troubleshooting and grievance redressal; carry out periodic review of progress; and evaluate the need for any iterative change to the process. Finally, based on pilot learnings, the solution provider must develop scalable and sustainable models for large-scale roll out.\r\n\r\niii. <strong>Consumer:</strong> To interact with the vendor to evaluate the need for the solution and to provide feedback on solution features, value-added services and ease of use.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"TESTING AND SYSTEMIC INQUIRY\" 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\"]An iterative process of learning was followed where field implementation and data-driven decision making was efficiently combined for optimal impact. The focus of this approach was to identify means of instilling a behavior shift from cash to digital payments among consumers and small vendors. Presented here is the phase-wise description of the experiment designed for the pilot.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 1: Merchant identification and onboarding\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Phase 1 was initiated with the one-time set up of the process for UPI payment flow, vendor onboarding and registration of the selected distributor. CATALYST had an active role in this phase involving training of the distributor on the usability of UPI apps and onboarding activities.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Pre-post analysis backed by triangulation of information for validation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> In-depth interviews with vendors, distributors, etc. Surveys were conducted to gather preliminary information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Merchant information, business information, consumer base, payment collection data, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 2: Sampling and consumer onboarding:\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]To enhance the pilot’s focus and efficiency, CATALYST, along with the distributors identified a few colonies with a high concentration of the customer base where we could engage with a sample of 300 households.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment collection through UPI:</strong> The distributor then shared his Virtual Payment Address (VPA) along with the monthly invoice to collect payment from the consumer.\r\n\r\n<strong>Consumer onboarding and activation:</strong> The distributor along with a CATALYST agent, conducted his daily payment collection beat, where he introduced the agent to his customers after which the agent briefed these consumers about the benefits of the UPI app and helped them onboard the apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A participatory research technique was employed to gain context-rich insights from the vendor for the solution design. Information collected through the surveys was incorporated into the pre-post analysis.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Consumers were introduced to enumerators for the preliminary survey and awareness creation; in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation were also carried out to understand motivation and perception.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Consumer household data, vendor consumer-base information, payment practices, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 3: Handholding and triability\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Upon successful registration on UPI, consumers were nudged by the vendor to make their current month’s payment using UPI apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment reconciliation:</strong> Merapaper used consumer details (name and VPA) recorded during onboarding to manually reconcile the UPI payments daily and then reflect and update the same information on the distributor’s MeraPaper balance sheet (dashboard).\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A/B testing was incorporated to understand adoptability and usability of the mobile application and UPI payment triangulation\r\nof data to understand digital payment viability for subscription-based payments.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Focus group discussions with the vendor and consumers were conducted; participatory and non-participatory observation of payment and collection behaviour was conducted.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transactional data; payment practices; mobile application and UPI adoption and usage, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 4: Behavioral shift and monitoring\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<p><strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong> The vendor generates automated invoices for all 200 consumers in the sample and sends them to the consumers using WhatsApp/SMS.</p>\r\n<p><strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong></p>\r\n<p>a. Distributor 1: In order to test if incentives increase solution usage and uptake, the distributor shall provide incentives to consumers through discounts on the next month’s billing cycle, for payments made through UPI. Subject to uptake of the solution based on the incentive trigger, the incentive amount shall be incremented, if required.</p>\r\n<p>b. Distributor 2: To test the most effective way to trigger remote digital payments to send a collect request using UPI apps or to rely on self-initiated transactions to facilitate payments through the UPI apps, consumers will be divided in batches of 100.</p>\r\n<p><strong>Methods:</strong> Experimental research techniques used to test responses to the mobile app, UPI payments as well as incentives introduced to encourage adoption; pre-post analysis by comparing pre-implementation data with postimplementation data.</p>\r\n<p><strong>Tools:</strong> Surveys, interviews, observations and focus group discussion.</p>\r\n<p><strong>Metrics:</strong> Transaction data; information regarding sustained usage; incentive impact</p>[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conversion funnel\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<p>Figure 3 represents the consumer conversion funnel, i.e., the proportion of consumers engaged with through vendors who were successfully onboarded and sustained digital payments for newspapers.</p>[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40155\" 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=\"SCALING AND REPLICATION\" 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=\"Key findings\" 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\"]<ul>\r\n<li>During the three-month long door-to-door campaign, we engaged approximately 300 consumer households in the experiment; 30 percent of these households adopted either a mobile-wallet or an UPI application.</li>\r\n<li>The revenue from digital payments for the partner vendor increased 10-fold in the months following this active field engagement.</li>\r\n<li>We saw 2 percent payment digitization in September 2017 which increased to 20 percent in January 2018. As of April 2018, i.e., close of experiment, approximately 60 percent of the vendor’s payments had been digitized.</li>\r\n</ul>[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Key challenges\" 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\"]<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Vendor and consumer onboarding difficulties:</strong>Onboarding vendors onto the Merapaper application was a cumbersome and labor-intensive process. At the time of the experiment, the vendor needed to make a one-time effort of manually add all his/her consumer contact and other details on the application to start their subscription payment services. This lowered the speed at which the solution could achieve scale.</li>\r\n<li><strong>Business model niche:</strong> A typical newspaper vendor serves to 500-2,000 customers and a tier II city like Jaipur has, on average, 2,000-3,500 vendors. The newspaper vertical is a small niche use case that is fit for this solution. As the Merapaper model is specifically aimed at subscriptions and charges a small fee per transaction, operating in such a niche raises the risk of Merapaper’s financial sustainability. It opens up the potential to expand into subscription-based business such as milk, cable television and tiffin services.</li>\r\n<li><strong>Challenges with generic name:</strong> The name “Merapaper” made it difficult for the solution provider to scale to other verticals as the name literally translates to ‘my newspaper’.</li>\r\n<li><strong>Language barrier:</strong> During the experiment period, Merapaper supported three major Indic languages apart from English. It is crucial for solution providers to develop apps in local languages and dialects because of the low literacy rate among adults.</li>\r\n</ul>[/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]', 'IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40130-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:52:44', '2019-01-18 09:52:44', '', 40130, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40130-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(40157, 23, '2019-01-18 09:47:38', '2019-01-18 09:47:38', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Executive Summary\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nEvidence suggests that the use of digital financial services can offer benefits such as increased financial transparency, accountability and inclusion. ¹For customers to adopt these solutions, however, it is very important that they see value in these solutions and have the ability and willingness to change their existing habit. This paper elaborates our learnings from experiments deployed by us to improve the uptake of digital payments and promote digital financial inclusion of the population. Some key insights from our field work and interactions with stakeholders include:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Both the end-consumers and the merchants aren’t proactively looking for digital financial solutions, so the hook to adopt these will have to be very strong. It must be a solution that meets a specific personal need for it to be relevant.</li>\r\n 	<li>Digital financial services are seen as a ‘double-edged sword’ - While majority agree that digital payments and services are convenient and helpful, there is a perceived risk to one’s money due to mistrust in using technology for finances and lack of confidence in their data being kept private. It is very important for the solutions, communication channels and influencers to be trust-worthy to drive adoption.</li>\r\n 	<li>Another aspect that is critical to build customers’ trust is seamless alignment of solutions with emerging technologies. Currently, there are many teething problems with some of the nascent technologies that use UPI or AEPS. If solution providers cannot fix these issues, these liabilities should be clearly defined and communicated to the customers – so that there is no lack of trust later.</li>\r\n 	<li>Adoption of digital financial services is directly proportional to a customer’s familiarity with technology and his/her state of financial inclusion. Taking a low-income individuals on the route to digital financial inclusion, who may or may not have bank accounts to begin with, is a long-drawn process requiring sustained interventions. It is therefore important to first identify the early adopters - example someone who is actively banking and has a smartphone -as they will be more open to change. Once onboarded, they can be the change-agents in networks where they are trusted.</li>\r\n 	<li>Merchants are ready and willing to offer any digital payment solution that the consumers ask for, but the push must be driven by consumers’ demand for it so that it improves their business. Therefore, the initial capability focus for the solution providers should be end-consumers as it is their interest and intent that will decide the merchants’ interest.</li>\r\n 	<li>Taking financial decisions is, in general, perceived to be a complex task – especially by women where they pass on the task to men of the household. There could be various societal norms at play here, but it is very important to take out the complexity from matters related to money. Simple digital solutions can help boost confidence of women and others who might be finding financial decisions complex, in general, and address this need for simplicity in finance.</li>\r\n 	<li>Once people convert to digital payments, they sustain this behavior easily. It requires substantial time and effort to communicate benefits and handhold a consumer to onboard a new digital payments platform. However, once they are onboarded and have personally experienced the convenience of digital payment solutions, people continue to use them.</li>\r\n 	<li>Integrated digital financial inclusion programs should focus on the entire cycle from awareness to sustained change with a specific solution at every step.</li>\r\n 	<li>Finally, to communicate various value propositions and build digital financial capabilities of customers, CATALYST used different channels to reach out to them. We found that a mix of social media and interpersonal channels is important to reach different profiles of people (youth, working men, self-employed women, housewives) who would be at different stages of the adoption curve. For merchants, since they have little active interest in digital payments currently, the format needs to be trusted, easy, engaging and, most importantly, backed by support.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<a href=\"http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution\">http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution</a>\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<div>Figure 1: The adoption continuum and learnings</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=\"40152\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. What is digital financial capability and why is it important?\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nThere are numerous examples from different countries that show how digital finance helped unpack different benefits and had a positive impact on important indicators like increased financial resilience or gender equality. In Kenya, for instance, access to Kenyan mobile money system M-Pesa extended financial services to the unbanked population at a very low cost. It provided them with a more affordable payments system, improved their financial behavior and increased the financial resilience of the households. It lifted 194,000 households out of poverty and especially worked for women, who moved out of agriculture and into other businesses.² Similarly, in Mexico, digital financial inclusion and the increased transparency that came with it allowed KuboFinanciero to offer peer-to-peer lending platforms. The middle class and wealthier borrowers could connect with small businesses and households and offer them credit post assessing their profiles and risks. Therefore, the benefits of digital finance, in the long term go beyond just increasing convenience of transactions or driving down costs.\r\n\r\nHowever, adoption of digital financial services requires a change in existing behavior – of consumers and of merchants. It requires people to change their existing habit of using cash and hence it is important for any solution provider to first understand the barriers to change and next work out the nudges that result in behavior change. To come up with targeted solutions for customers, it is important to first understand how they think, make decisions and behave. Better understanding of human behavior and reasons behind their actions can lead to better design solutions. “The ability to understand what products and how they can be used to inculcate habit-forming behaviors in your target customer base can lead to the design of a sustaining product,” says Nir Eyal, author of How to Build Habit-forming Products.\r\n\r\nAt CATALYST, we realized that to bring about a behavioral shift from cash to digital payments and to ensure integrated financial inclusion, we would first need to understand our target audience (merchants and end-consumers), their triggers and barriers towards digital financial services and then influence their behavior by improving their digital financial capability (DFC).\r\n\r\n² Suri, T. and William Jack <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27940873\">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27940873</a> December 9, 2016\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. Overview\" 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=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:47:38', '2019-01-18 09:47:38', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(40162, 23, '2019-01-18 10:02:07', '2019-01-18 10:02:07', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Executive Summary\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nEvidence suggests that the use of digital financial services can offer benefits such as increased financial transparency, accountability and inclusion. ¹For customers to adopt these solutions, however, it is very important that they see value in these solutions and have the ability and willingness to change their existing habit. This paper elaborates our learnings from experiments deployed by us to improve the uptake of digital payments and promote digital financial inclusion of the population. Some key insights from our field work and interactions with stakeholders include:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Both the end-consumers and the merchants aren’t proactively looking for digital financial solutions, so the hook to adopt these will have to be very strong. It must be a solution that meets a specific personal need for it to be relevant.</li>\r\n 	<li>Digital financial services are seen as a ‘double-edged sword’ - While majority agree that digital payments and services are convenient and helpful, there is a perceived risk to one’s money due to mistrust in using technology for finances and lack of confidence in their data being kept private. It is very important for the solutions, communication channels and influencers to be trust-worthy to drive adoption.</li>\r\n 	<li>Another aspect that is critical to build customers’ trust is seamless alignment of solutions with emerging technologies. Currently, there are many teething problems with some of the nascent technologies that use UPI or AEPS. If solution providers cannot fix these issues, these liabilities should be clearly defined and communicated to the customers – so that there is no lack of trust later.</li>\r\n 	<li>Adoption of digital financial services is directly proportional to a customer’s familiarity with technology and his/her state of financial inclusion. Taking a low-income individuals on the route to digital financial inclusion, who may or may not have bank accounts to begin with, is a long-drawn process requiring sustained interventions. It is therefore important to first identify the early adopters - example someone who is actively banking and has a smartphone -as they will be more open to change. Once onboarded, they can be the change-agents in networks where they are trusted.</li>\r\n 	<li>Merchants are ready and willing to offer any digital payment solution that the consumers ask for, but the push must be driven by consumers’ demand for it so that it improves their business. Therefore, the initial capability focus for the solution providers should be end-consumers as it is their interest and intent that will decide the merchants’ interest.</li>\r\n 	<li>Taking financial decisions is, in general, perceived to be a complex task – especially by women where they pass on the task to men of the household. There could be various societal norms at play here, but it is very important to take out the complexity from matters related to money. Simple digital solutions can help boost confidence of women and others who might be finding financial decisions complex, in general, and address this need for simplicity in finance.</li>\r\n 	<li>Once people convert to digital payments, they sustain this behavior easily. It requires substantial time and effort to communicate benefits and handhold a consumer to onboard a new digital payments platform. However, once they are onboarded and have personally experienced the convenience of digital payment solutions, people continue to use them.</li>\r\n 	<li>Integrated digital financial inclusion programs should focus on the entire cycle from awareness to sustained change with a specific solution at every step.</li>\r\n 	<li>Finally, to communicate various value propositions and build digital financial capabilities of customers, CATALYST used different channels to reach out to them. We found that a mix of social media and interpersonal channels is important to reach different profiles of people (youth, working men, self-employed women, housewives) who would be at different stages of the adoption curve. For merchants, since they have little active interest in digital payments currently, the format needs to be trusted, easy, engaging and, most importantly, backed by support.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<a href=\"http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution\">http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution</a>\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Figure 1: The adoption continuum and learnings</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=\"40152\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. What is digital financial capability and why is it important?\" 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\"]\r\n<div>Financial capability is defined as ‘the combination of knowledge,</div>\r\n<div>skills, attitudes, and behaviors a person needs to make sound financial decisions. ³We defined digital financial capability as the ability and willingness of the customers to use digital financial services. The key levers that we tried to impact through our work were awareness and knowledge of various options available, how to use the service, attitude towards the service (i.e. willingness), using the service and finally repeated use (sustained behavior and advocacy).</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Figure 2: Levers of DFC</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=\"40160\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<div>In isolation, while digital financial literacy shifts the responsibility onto consumers to decide for themselves and to act on the available options, DFC handholds consumers to the last mile by building their capacity to act as well as providing clear opportunities to do so. With the DFC approach, our intent was to convert people’s knowledge into action.  It is not just about making them aware; it is about filling the huge gap between awareness and action by providing specific end-to-end solutions throughout the adoption journey.</div>\r\n<div>To change the sticky behavior of using cash, people do not just need to be educated about alternative solutions but also need clear answers to ‘why they should change’ and ‘how they should change,’ i.e., they need to have a value proposition or a nudge that will propel them to drop a habit. While ‘why’ will drive their willingness, the ‘how’ will increase their ability to transact.</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]<a href=\"http://³ http://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/CFI_Brief_005_Banking_Sector_Approaches_05-29-2018.pdf\">³ http://content.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/wp content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/CFI_Brief_005_Banking_Sector_Approaches_05-29-2018.pdf</a>[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"3. Ecosystems where we deployed digital financial capability experiments\" 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_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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_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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 10:02:07', '2019-01-18 10:02:07', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40158, 23, '2019-01-18 09:48:45', '2019-01-18 09:48:45', '[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=\"40136\"][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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability (DFC) of customers: Key learnings from our experiments across different ecosystems\" 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/MoT-Learning-Note.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=\"About CATALYST\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]CATALYST is a user-centric ‘digital financial inclusion innovation platform’ for the underserved last mile. The initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program, through funding provided to FHI 360. Housed within the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Leveraging Evidence for Access and Development (IFMR LEAD), the initiative aims to expand digital payments and financial inclusion in India.CATALYST identifies, develops and validates solution frameworks and business models in collaboration with facilitating government agencies and participating industry solution providers to responsibly transition small business ecosystems (i.e., merchants, consumers, suppliers) from an inefficient cash economy to digital payment platforms, and further onto broader digital finance solutions. CATALYST has also launched a new business incubator, ‘Fintech for the Last Mile,’ to promote entrepreneurs focused on developing innovative digital finance solutions for traditionally underserved segments.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Acknowledgements\" font_container=\"tag:h2|font_size:26px|text_align:left|color:%23da4a62|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\"]\r\n<div>The authors thank and acknowledge the support of Arbind Vishwakarma,</div>\r\n<div>Deepti KC, Tunisha Kapoor and John Arun for the insights from their respective projects. Thanks also to Harsh Pandey (FHI 360), Jayshree Venkatesan, Ankur Gautam and Preethi Rao for editorial reviews and feedback, and to Badal Malick and Sharon Buteau for their consistent support and encouragement.</div>\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=\"40098\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Executive Summary\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nEvidence suggests that the use of digital financial services can offer benefits such as increased financial transparency, accountability and inclusion. ¹For customers to adopt these solutions, however, it is very important that they see value in these solutions and have the ability and willingness to change their existing habit. This paper elaborates our learnings from experiments deployed by us to improve the uptake of digital payments and promote digital financial inclusion of the population. Some key insights from our field work and interactions with stakeholders include:\r\n<ol>\r\n 	<li>Both the end-consumers and the merchants aren’t proactively looking for digital financial solutions, so the hook to adopt these will have to be very strong. It must be a solution that meets a specific personal need for it to be relevant.</li>\r\n 	<li>Digital financial services are seen as a ‘double-edged sword’ - While majority agree that digital payments and services are convenient and helpful, there is a perceived risk to one’s money due to mistrust in using technology for finances and lack of confidence in their data being kept private. It is very important for the solutions, communication channels and influencers to be trust-worthy to drive adoption.</li>\r\n 	<li>Another aspect that is critical to build customers’ trust is seamless alignment of solutions with emerging technologies. Currently, there are many teething problems with some of the nascent technologies that use UPI or AEPS. If solution providers cannot fix these issues, these liabilities should be clearly defined and communicated to the customers – so that there is no lack of trust later.</li>\r\n 	<li>Adoption of digital financial services is directly proportional to a customer’s familiarity with technology and his/her state of financial inclusion. Taking a low-income individuals on the route to digital financial inclusion, who may or may not have bank accounts to begin with, is a long-drawn process requiring sustained interventions. It is therefore important to first identify the early adopters - example someone who is actively banking and has a smartphone -as they will be more open to change. Once onboarded, they can be the change-agents in networks where they are trusted.</li>\r\n 	<li>Merchants are ready and willing to offer any digital payment solution that the consumers ask for, but the push must be driven by consumers’ demand for it so that it improves their business. Therefore, the initial capability focus for the solution providers should be end-consumers as it is their interest and intent that will decide the merchants’ interest.</li>\r\n 	<li>Taking financial decisions is, in general, perceived to be a complex task – especially by women where they pass on the task to men of the household. There could be various societal norms at play here, but it is very important to take out the complexity from matters related to money. Simple digital solutions can help boost confidence of women and others who might be finding financial decisions complex, in general, and address this need for simplicity in finance.</li>\r\n 	<li>Once people convert to digital payments, they sustain this behavior easily. It requires substantial time and effort to communicate benefits and handhold a consumer to onboard a new digital payments platform. However, once they are onboarded and have personally experienced the convenience of digital payment solutions, people continue to use them.</li>\r\n 	<li>Integrated digital financial inclusion programs should focus on the entire cycle from awareness to sustained change with a specific solution at every step.</li>\r\n 	<li>Finally, to communicate various value propositions and build digital financial capabilities of customers, CATALYST used different channels to reach out to them. We found that a mix of social media and interpersonal channels is important to reach different profiles of people (youth, working men, self-employed women, housewives) who would be at different stages of the adoption curve. For merchants, since they have little active interest in digital payments currently, the format needs to be trusted, easy, engaging and, most importantly, backed by support.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n<a href=\"http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution\">http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/332881525873182837/The-Global-Findex-Database-2017-Measuring-Financial-Inclusion-and-the-Fintech-Revolution</a>\r\n[/vc_column_text][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][kleo_gap][vc_column_text letter_spacing=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Figure 1: The adoption continuum and learnings</div>\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=\"40152\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][kleo_gap][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"2. What is digital financial capability and why is it important?\" 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\"]\r\n\r\nThere are numerous examples from different countries that show how digital finance helped unpack different benefits and had a positive impact on important indicators like increased financial resilience or gender equality. In Kenya, for instance, access to Kenyan mobile money system M-Pesa extended financial services to the unbanked population at a very low cost. It provided them with a more affordable payments system, improved their financial behavior and increased the financial resilience of the households. It lifted 194,000 households out of poverty and especially worked for women, who moved out of agriculture and into other businesses.² Similarly, in Mexico, digital financial inclusion and the increased transparency that came with it allowed KuboFinanciero to offer peer-to-peer lending platforms. The middle class and wealthier borrowers could connect with small businesses and households and offer them credit post assessing their profiles and risks. Therefore, the benefits of digital finance, in the long term go beyond just increasing convenience of transactions or driving down costs.\r\n\r\nHowever, adoption of digital financial services requires a change in existing behavior – of consumers and of merchants. It requires people to change their existing habit of using cash and hence it is important for any solution provider to first understand the barriers to change and next work out the nudges that result in behavior change. To come up with targeted solutions for customers, it is important to first understand how they think, make decisions and behave. Better understanding of human behavior and reasons behind their actions can lead to better design solutions. “The ability to understand what products and how they can be used to inculcate habit-forming behaviors in your target customer base can lead to the design of a sustaining product,” says Nir Eyal, author of How to Build Habit-forming Products.\r\n\r\nAt CATALYST, we realized that to bring about a behavioral shift from cash to digital payments and to ensure integrated financial inclusion, we would first need to understand our target audience (merchants and end-consumers), their triggers and barriers towards digital financial services and then influence their behavior by improving their digital financial capability (DFC).\r\n\r\n² Suri, T. and William Jack <a href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27940873\">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27940873</a> December 9, 2016\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=\"image\" bg_color=\"#373b3c\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40100\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"1. Overview\" 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=\"image\" bg_color=\"#c9213b\" padding_top=\"150\" padding_bottom=\"150\" inline_style=\"font-style: normal;\" bg_image=\"40101\"][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"MARKERS OF TRUST\" 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\"]Looping back to the initial idea of an ecosystem as a system of living relationships, it is observed that even though these relationships are marked with inequality, the norms and variations are consistent and known to all the parties. Trust is therefore vital to the survival and growth of the ecosystem. In attempting to create a digital ecosystem, it is essential to recreate the markers of trust digitally as they are on the ground.\r\n\r\nThe first marker of trust is that all the parties in an existing relationship dynamic are equally invested. Otherwise they would not embrace an unknown system. In the case of working women, the dynamic not only includes men and the household, but also their employers, agents and the other economic actors that they interact with in the value chain. The two tricks of the trade above highlight how this dynamic works.\r\n\r\nThe second marker of trust would be an assurance against fear of the unknown. This could be achieved by intensive handholding and proactive grievance redressal. CATALYST’s efforts in Bhatta Basti with opening bank accounts and ATM pin generation were a good example of how this becomes an effective strategy in including the financially underserved.\r\n\r\nThe third marker of trust comes from incentivizing the early adopters in the community to become champions and role models where they help their peers through the digital journey. Information and communication from known and trusted sources would be a far more easy-sell for digital solutions than from the marketing and promotion activities of the solution itself.\r\n\r\nThe fourth marker of trust would be a process of community legitimization or validation. Since the community itself is a key stakeholder, the community should benefit. Public good or value must be created, in collective public terms, so as to not only endorse the digital ecosystem, but encourage it.\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/MoT-Learning-Note.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[/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[/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 behavioral insights to improve digital financial capability of customers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40127-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:48:45', '2019-01-18 09:48:45', '', 40127, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40127-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40161, 12, '2019-01-18 09:56:19', '2019-01-18 09:56:19', '[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=\"40038\"][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=\"IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH\" 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\"]CATALYST aims to significantly expand the use of digital payments between low-income consumers and merchants. Achieving this vision requires the identification, development, testing and implementation of innovative business models that are also scalable and sustainable. It also requires a conducive policy environment and a significant behavior change from consumers. Given the numerous stakeholders in the payments value chain, scaling new digital solutions requires that multiple coordination problems be addressed. Through this, the need arises for a context-specific approach, and a rigorous well-defined “learning and solving by doing” methodology. Such a methodology captures the adaptive process of innovation in real world settings where intractable challenges are being addressed. This note outlines the method that is specific to such a setting and underlines CATALYST’s learning process comprising rapid, data-driven, test-learn-and-build cycles with the aim to validate various innovative business models around digital payments that can further be scaled.\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=\"AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH\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\"]CATALYST, through its multiple partnerships, serves as an incubator of innovative business models built around digital payments as well as policy field experiments in real-world settings. This ecosystem approach is core to its ability to achieve sustainable impact on the longer-term and catalyze systematic change.\r\n\r\nComplex problems, such as digital payments, often remain unresolved, despite the will to address them. This is because the challenges in resolving them result from interconnectedness and complexities of different actors and aspects. Such challenges need to be studied through the lens of the ecosystem in which they exist. Many actors and factors can influence uptake of digital payments between merchants (supply) and low-income households (demand), or within supply chains. Failure to take into aspects such as the regulatory environment, technology innovation, customer need and constraints, as well as available infrastructure, among other aspects, into consideration would yield very limited impact. Central to the philosophy is blending an entrepreneurial innovative way of thinking with a grass root level approach to doing, to infuse transformative change.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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 SOLVING`` BY DOING MODEL\" 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\"]Addressing issues in real-word ecosystem settings through innovation requires an exploratory as well as an action-oriented method. This allows potential solutions to emerge and their iterative testing until evolution into an optimal solution. Key to the success of this process is a well-defined learning plan and testing in the intended use environment. It is characterized by incremental knowledge production and collaborative learning among various experts (researchers, practitioners, government, technology experts, etc.).\r\n\r\nThe process features the following broad steps:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identification:</strong> Focus on identifying persistent painpoints from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Solution Design:</strong> Collaborative approach to designing a solution and a commitment to an iterative process that allows continuous refinement of the solution. The solution design is based on developing assumptions from theory, practice as well as ensuring a well-defined plan for learning.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Testing and Systematic Inquiry:</strong> Implementing and testing the solution with the relevant partners and in the environment in which it is intended to be further replicated. This step involves systematic inquiry as learnings are derived and iterated accordingly. Clearly defined metrics are put in place to systematically evaluate, implement and improve the digital payment landscape. Information regarding the methods, tools and metrics used in this exercise are detailed in Appendix. A wide range of methods such as pre-post analysis, information triangulation, A/B testing, experimental and participatory research techniques. Research tools such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussion, etc., are used to gather context-rich information and data that are backed by evidence.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Scaling and Replicating:</strong> Devising a plan for scaling and replicating the optimal solution outcome and catalyzing a systematic and sustaining change in systems.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547795402510{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"40138\" 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=\"MERAPAPER: SUBSCRIPTION MODEL FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS CASE STUDY\" 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_custom_heading text=\"Background and context\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Merapaper (now Bix42) is a micro Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, a mobile application that provides digital invoicing and payment service to micro vendors. It focuses on attracting micro vendors whose business has a subscription model of payment. As the first step in this endeavor, it worked towards digitizing billing and invoicing for newspaper vendors, a prominent use case in any geographical area. The solution allowed vendors to keep a track of their consumer base and their respective balances. It generated automatic bills at the end of each month, which reduced the manual labor of maintaining ledgers. In addition, it enabled vendors to send bills to customers via multiple channels of communication such as WhatsApp, email and Short Message Service (SMS). The sections below described the learning by doing process followed by Catalyst.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Identification\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]A digital solution such as the Merapaper application that enables remote payment can ease out the pain in payment collection and accounts reconciliation in a subscription business model. The belief is that, through such a systemized digital subscriptionbased payment mechanism, distributors can realize the value proposition of adopting digital payment mechanisms, thereby eventually growing their business and consumers’ sustain usage as well as adopting digital payment mechanisms for other expenses as well.\r\n\r\nNewspaper distribution is a laborious manual process including daily distribution, invoicing and payment collection. While doorstep newspaper distribution is a streamlined process with a low error rate, the billing for it is largely a paper-driven process, one that is onerous and labor-intensive and can take-up to 10-12 hours every month. The monthly collection of payments is equally cumbersome and requires at least three or four repeat visits to each household. In reality, it takes 20-22 days for a newspaper vendor to recover the revenue for a given month. This also includes manual reconciliation and cash accounting for bookkeeping. A newspaper vendor works on moderate margins and relies heavily on timely consumer payments to maintain business cash flow. There is also an overhead spillage of up to 5 percent due to transportation charges and wages of staff engaged in invoice distribution and payments collection. Lack of awareness about the availability of digital payment options was a major reason for such a low percentage of digitally paying customers.\r\n\r\nMerapaper’s business model targets small vendors who generally belong to low- to middle-income households, and work more than 16 hours every day. Such vendors maintain a daily product purchase cycle. However, the subscription-based customer payment happens once every month or at longer intervals. Hence, these vendors continue to service consumers while extending a minimum of one month’s credit period. It is critical for these vendors to generate enough cash on a daily basis to run their business, make supplier payments and remain afloat.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"The business case for newspaper distributor to go digital\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The newspaper business is an ideal sector for payment and invoice digitization. The following section highlights the challenges faced by newspaper distributors that could be resolved with a solution such as the Merapaper app:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Manual process of invoice generation and payment collection:</strong> Newspaper vendors deliver newspapers on a daily basis to consumer households. They must visit each consumer household in person to collect the payments. Payment collection takes about 20-22 days from the date of invoice generation. And a distributor must allocate three to six hours daily and make two to three repeat visits to successfully complete payment collection for the month. Only 2-3 percent of the consumer base pays digitally.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Manual recording of receipts and reconciliation:</strong> Newspaper vendors maintain ledgers with details regarding bill payments and due amount. This task is a challenge due to its time-intensive nature and has the potential to disrupt a vendor’s working capital if mistakes are made.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Resource allocation and overhead cost:</strong> Big newspaper distributors hire temporary employees to complete the monthly payment collection. Along with employee salary, transportation costs chip away at the thin margins of a newspaper business.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Solution design\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]CATALYST worked with Merapaper to test the possibility of digitizing subscription-based payments. In addition to pilot testing the Merapaper application, we also aimed to test if the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform was appropriate to digitize newspaper subscription payments.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Theory of change\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Collecting payments from consumers is a time- and resource-consuming activity. Distributors struggle with several inconveniences due to cash collection. For example, costumers are sometimes unavailable or low-income subscribers may not have the payment amount available with them.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547558084322{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40141\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=\"Objective\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]In the wake of the given opportunity to digitize payments to newspaper vendors, the objective was to:\r\n\r\ni. Test whether UPI-based remote digital payments are an effective solution for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\nii. Test whether consumers adopt the UPI payment mechanism for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\niii. Understand the impact of UPI-based remote payment mechanism in creating value for distributor and consumer;\r\n\r\niv. Build a process workflow for the newspaper bill payment use case, which can help Merapaper to build a sustained business model; and\r\n\r\nv. Validate if Merapaper’s business model provides value to its distributors as an effective and user-friendly solution with a proposition to scale.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Focus areas\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The pilot was focused on peri-urban communities with household incomes in the range of INR 15,000 to 20,000 per annum with most of the residents employed as daily wage laborers, taxi drivers, and household helps. Four locations with this category of consumer base were suggested to provide a vendor connect in the given location. Of the three vendors engaged, two dropped out half way through the pilot due to a lack of availability. The pilot was finally executed in the Kanakpura locality of Jaipur.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Stakeholder engagement\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Within the subscription-based digital payment ecosystem for newspapers, we engaged with the following key stakeholders.\r\n\r\ni. <strong>Newspaper vendors:</strong> To introduce digital payment option through the Merapaper mobile application and promote incentives and other pilot levers to the consumer base across the identified low-income communities. In addition, vendors also evaluate payment solution during the pilot and adopt a commercial/sustainable business model based on pilot success, during as well as post pilot.\r\n\r\nii. <strong>Solution provider (Merapaper):</strong> To train vendors on application usability; provide a single channel for troubleshooting and grievance redressal; carry out periodic review of progress; and evaluate the need for any iterative change to the process. Finally, based on pilot learnings, the solution provider must develop scalable and sustainable models for large-scale roll out.\r\n\r\niii. <strong>Consumer:</strong> To interact with the vendor to evaluate the need for the solution and to provide feedback on solution features, value-added services and ease of use.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"TESTING AND SYSTEMIC INQUIRY\" 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\"]An iterative process of learning was followed where field implementation and data-driven decision making was efficiently combined for optimal impact. The focus of this approach was to identify means of instilling a behavior shift from cash to digital payments among consumers and small vendors. Presented here is the phase-wise description of the experiment designed for the pilot.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 1: Merchant identification and onboarding\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Phase 1 was initiated with the one-time set up of the process for UPI payment flow, vendor onboarding and registration of the selected distributor. CATALYST had an active role in this phase involving training of the distributor on the usability of UPI apps and onboarding activities.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Pre-post analysis backed by triangulation of information for validation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> In-depth interviews with vendors, distributors, etc. Surveys were conducted to gather preliminary information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Merchant information, business information, consumer base, payment collection data, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 2: Sampling and consumer onboarding:\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]To enhance the pilot’s focus and efficiency, CATALYST, along with the distributors identified a few colonies with a high concentration of the customer base where we could engage with a sample of 300 households.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment collection through UPI:</strong> The distributor then shared his Virtual Payment Address (VPA) along with the monthly invoice to collect payment from the consumer.\r\n\r\n<strong>Consumer onboarding and activation:</strong> The distributor along with a CATALYST agent, conducted his daily payment collection beat, where he introduced the agent to his customers after which the agent briefed these consumers about the benefits of the UPI app and helped them onboard the apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A participatory research technique was employed to gain context-rich insights from the vendor for the solution design. Information collected through the surveys was incorporated into the pre-post analysis.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Consumers were introduced to enumerators for the preliminary survey and awareness creation; in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation were also carried out to understand motivation and perception.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Consumer household data, vendor consumer-base information, payment practices, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 3: Handholding and triability\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Upon successful registration on UPI, consumers were nudged by the vendor to make their current month’s payment using UPI apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment reconciliation:</strong> Merapaper used consumer details (name and VPA) recorded during onboarding to manually reconcile the UPI payments daily and then reflect and update the same information on the distributor’s MeraPaper balance sheet (dashboard).\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A/B testing was incorporated to understand adoptability and usability of the mobile application and UPI payment triangulation\r\nof data to understand digital payment viability for subscription-based payments.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Focus group discussions with the vendor and consumers were conducted; participatory and non-participatory observation of payment and collection behaviour was conducted.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transactional data; payment practices; mobile application and UPI adoption and usage, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 4: Behavioral shift and monitoring\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong> The vendor generates automated invoices for all 200 consumers in the sample and sends them to the consumers using WhatsApp/SMS.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong>\r\n\r\na. Distributor 1: In order to test if incentives increase solution usage and uptake, the distributor shall provide incentives to consumers through discounts on the next month’s billing cycle, for payments made through UPI. Subject to uptake of the solution based on the incentive trigger, the incentive amount shall be incremented, if required.\r\n\r\nb. Distributor 2: To test the most effective way to trigger remote digital payments to send a collect request using UPI apps or to rely on self-initiated transactions to facilitate payments through the UPI apps, consumers will be divided in batches of 100.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Experimental research techniques used to test responses to the mobile app, UPI payments as well as incentives introduced to encourage adoption; pre-post analysis by comparing pre-implementation data with postimplementation data.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Surveys, interviews, observations and focus group discussion.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transaction data; information regarding sustained usage; incentive impact\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conversion funnel\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Figure 3 represents the consumer conversion funnel, i.e., the proportion of consumers engaged with through vendors who were successfully onboarded and sustained digital payments for newspapers.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40155\" 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=\"SCALING AND REPLICATION\" 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=\"Key findings\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>During the three-month long door-to-door campaign, we engaged approximately 300 consumer households in the experiment; 30 percent of these households adopted either a mobile-wallet or an UPI application.</li>\r\n	<li>The revenue from digital payments for the partner vendor increased 10-fold in the months following this active field engagement.</li>\r\n	<li>We saw 2 percent payment digitization in September 2017 which increased to 20 percent in January 2018. As of April 2018, i.e., close of experiment, approximately 60 percent of the vendor’s payments had been digitized.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Key challenges\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Vendor and consumer onboarding difficulties:</strong>Onboarding vendors onto the Merapaper application was a cumbersome and labor-intensive process. At the time of the experiment, the vendor needed to make a one-time effort of manually add all his/her consumer contact and other details on the application to start their subscription payment services. This lowered the speed at which the solution could achieve scale.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Business model niche:</strong> A typical newspaper vendor serves to 500-2,000 customers and a tier II city like Jaipur has, on average, 2,000-3,500 vendors. The newspaper vertical is a small niche use case that is fit for this solution. As the Merapaper model is specifically aimed at subscriptions and charges a small fee per transaction, operating in such a niche raises the risk of Merapaper’s financial sustainability. It opens up the potential to expand into subscription-based business such as milk, cable television and tiffin services.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Challenges with generic name:</strong> The name “Merapaper” made it difficult for the solution provider to scale to other verticals as the name literally translates to ‘my newspaper’.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Language barrier:</strong> During the experiment period, Merapaper supported three major Indic languages apart from English. It is crucial for solution providers to develop apps in local languages and dialects because of the low literacy rate among adults.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"SCALING AND REPLICATION\" 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=\"Key findings\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>During the three-month long door-to-door campaign, we engaged approximately 300 consumer households in the experiment; 30 percent of these households adopted either a mobile-wallet or an UPI application.</li>\r\n	<li>The revenue from digital payments for the partner vendor increased 10-fold in the months following this active field engagement.</li>\r\n	<li>We saw 2 percent payment digitization in September 2017 which increased to 20 percent in January 2018. As of April 2018, i.e., close of experiment, approximately 60 percent of the vendor’s payments had been digitized.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Key challenges\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Vendor and consumer onboarding difficulties:</strong>Onboarding vendors onto the Merapaper application was a cumbersome and labor-intensive process. At the time of the experiment, the vendor needed to make a one-time effort of manually add all his/her consumer contact and other details on the application to start their subscription payment services. This lowered the speed at which the solution could achieve scale.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Business model niche:</strong> A typical newspaper vendor serves to 500-2,000 customers and a tier II city like Jaipur has, on average, 2,000-3,500 vendors. The newspaper vertical is a small niche use case that is fit for this solution. As the Merapaper model is specifically aimed at subscriptions and charges a small fee per transaction, operating in such a niche raises the risk of Merapaper’s financial sustainability. It opens up the potential to expand into subscription-based business such as milk, cable television and tiffin services.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Challenges with generic name:</strong> The name “Merapaper” made it difficult for the solution provider to scale to other verticals as the name literally translates to ‘my newspaper’.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Language barrier:</strong> During the experiment period, Merapaper supported three major Indic languages apart from English. It is crucial for solution providers to develop apps in local languages and dialects because of the low literacy rate among adults.</li>\r\n</ul>\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]', 'IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40130-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 09:56:19', '2019-01-18 09:56:19', '', 40130, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40130-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40167, 12, '2019-01-18 10:07:41', '2019-01-18 10:07:41', '[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=\"40038\"][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=\"IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH\" 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\"]CATALYST aims to significantly expand the use of digital payments between low-income consumers and merchants. Achieving this vision requires the identification, development, testing and implementation of innovative business models that are also scalable and sustainable. It also requires a conducive policy environment and a significant behavior change from consumers. Given the numerous stakeholders in the payments value chain, scaling new digital solutions requires that multiple coordination problems be addressed. Through this, the need arises for a context-specific approach, and a rigorous well-defined “learning and solving by doing” methodology. Such a methodology captures the adaptive process of innovation in real world settings where intractable challenges are being addressed. This note outlines the method that is specific to such a setting and underlines CATALYST’s learning process comprising rapid, data-driven, test-learn-and-build cycles with the aim to validate various innovative business models around digital payments that can further be scaled.\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=\"AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH\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\"]CATALYST, through its multiple partnerships, serves as an incubator of innovative business models built around digital payments as well as policy field experiments in real-world settings. This ecosystem approach is core to its ability to achieve sustainable impact on the longer-term and catalyze systematic change.\r\n\r\nComplex problems, such as digital payments, often remain unresolved, despite the will to address them. This is because the challenges in resolving them result from interconnectedness and complexities of different actors and aspects. Such challenges need to be studied through the lens of the ecosystem in which they exist. Many actors and factors can influence uptake of digital payments between merchants (supply) and low-income households (demand), or within supply chains. Failure to take into aspects such as the regulatory environment, technology innovation, customer need and constraints, as well as available infrastructure, among other aspects, into consideration would yield very limited impact. Central to the philosophy is blending an entrepreneurial innovative way of thinking with a grass root level approach to doing, to infuse transformative change.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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 SOLVING`` BY DOING MODEL\" 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\"]Addressing issues in real-word ecosystem settings through innovation requires an exploratory as well as an action-oriented method. This allows potential solutions to emerge and their iterative testing until evolution into an optimal solution. Key to the success of this process is a well-defined learning plan and testing in the intended use environment. It is characterized by incremental knowledge production and collaborative learning among various experts (researchers, practitioners, government, technology experts, etc.).\r\n\r\nThe process features the following broad steps:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identification:</strong> Focus on identifying persistent painpoints from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Solution Design:</strong> Collaborative approach to designing a solution and a commitment to an iterative process that allows continuous refinement of the solution. The solution design is based on developing assumptions from theory, practice as well as ensuring a well-defined plan for learning.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Testing and Systematic Inquiry:</strong> Implementing and testing the solution with the relevant partners and in the environment in which it is intended to be further replicated. This step involves systematic inquiry as learnings are derived and iterated accordingly. Clearly defined metrics are put in place to systematically evaluate, implement and improve the digital payment landscape. Information regarding the methods, tools and metrics used in this exercise are detailed in Appendix. A wide range of methods such as pre-post analysis, information triangulation, A/B testing, experimental and participatory research techniques. Research tools such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussion, etc., are used to gather context-rich information and data that are backed by evidence.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Scaling and Replicating:</strong> Devising a plan for scaling and replicating the optimal solution outcome and catalyzing a systematic and sustaining change in systems.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547795402510{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"40138\" 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=\"MERAPAPER: SUBSCRIPTION MODEL FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS CASE STUDY\" 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_custom_heading text=\"Background and context\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Merapaper (now Bix42) is a micro Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, a mobile application that provides digital invoicing and payment service to micro vendors. It focuses on attracting micro vendors whose business has a subscription model of payment. As the first step in this endeavor, it worked towards digitizing billing and invoicing for newspaper vendors, a prominent use case in any geographical area. The solution allowed vendors to keep a track of their consumer base and their respective balances. It generated automatic bills at the end of each month, which reduced the manual labor of maintaining ledgers. In addition, it enabled vendors to send bills to customers via multiple channels of communication such as WhatsApp, email and Short Message Service (SMS). The sections below described the learning by doing process followed by Catalyst.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Identification\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]A digital solution such as the Merapaper application that enables remote payment can ease out the pain in payment collection and accounts reconciliation in a subscription business model. The belief is that, through such a systemized digital subscriptionbased payment mechanism, distributors can realize the value proposition of adopting digital payment mechanisms, thereby eventually growing their business and consumers’ sustain usage as well as adopting digital payment mechanisms for other expenses as well.\r\n\r\nNewspaper distribution is a laborious manual process including daily distribution, invoicing and payment collection. While doorstep newspaper distribution is a streamlined process with a low error rate, the billing for it is largely a paper-driven process, one that is onerous and labor-intensive and can take-up to 10-12 hours every month. The monthly collection of payments is equally cumbersome and requires at least three or four repeat visits to each household. In reality, it takes 20-22 days for a newspaper vendor to recover the revenue for a given month. This also includes manual reconciliation and cash accounting for bookkeeping. A newspaper vendor works on moderate margins and relies heavily on timely consumer payments to maintain business cash flow. There is also an overhead spillage of up to 5 percent due to transportation charges and wages of staff engaged in invoice distribution and payments collection. Lack of awareness about the availability of digital payment options was a major reason for such a low percentage of digitally paying customers.\r\n\r\nMerapaper’s business model targets small vendors who generally belong to low- to middle-income households, and work more than 16 hours every day. Such vendors maintain a daily product purchase cycle. However, the subscription-based customer payment happens once every month or at longer intervals. Hence, these vendors continue to service consumers while extending a minimum of one month’s credit period. It is critical for these vendors to generate enough cash on a daily basis to run their business, make supplier payments and remain afloat.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"The business case for newspaper distributor to go digital\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The newspaper business is an ideal sector for payment and invoice digitization. The following section highlights the challenges faced by newspaper distributors that could be resolved with a solution such as the Merapaper app:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Manual process of invoice generation and payment collection:</strong> Newspaper vendors deliver newspapers on a daily basis to consumer households. They must visit each consumer household in person to collect the payments. Payment collection takes about 20-22 days from the date of invoice generation. And a distributor must allocate three to six hours daily and make two to three repeat visits to successfully complete payment collection for the month. Only 2-3 percent of the consumer base pays digitally.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Manual recording of receipts and reconciliation:</strong> Newspaper vendors maintain ledgers with details regarding bill payments and due amount. This task is a challenge due to its time-intensive nature and has the potential to disrupt a vendor’s working capital if mistakes are made.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Resource allocation and overhead cost:</strong> Big newspaper distributors hire temporary employees to complete the monthly payment collection. Along with employee salary, transportation costs chip away at the thin margins of a newspaper business.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Solution design\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]CATALYST worked with Merapaper to test the possibility of digitizing subscription-based payments. In addition to pilot testing the Merapaper application, we also aimed to test if the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform was appropriate to digitize newspaper subscription payments.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Theory of change\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Collecting payments from consumers is a time- and resource-consuming activity. Distributors struggle with several inconveniences due to cash collection. For example, costumers are sometimes unavailable or low-income subscribers may not have the payment amount available with them.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547558084322{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40141\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=\"Objective\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]In the wake of the given opportunity to digitize payments to newspaper vendors, the objective was to:\r\n\r\ni. Test whether UPI-based remote digital payments are an effective solution for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\nii. Test whether consumers adopt the UPI payment mechanism for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\niii. Understand the impact of UPI-based remote payment mechanism in creating value for distributor and consumer;\r\n\r\niv. Build a process workflow for the newspaper bill payment use case, which can help Merapaper to build a sustained business model; and\r\n\r\nv. Validate if Merapaper’s business model provides value to its distributors as an effective and user-friendly solution with a proposition to scale.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Focus areas\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The pilot was focused on peri-urban communities with household incomes in the range of INR 15,000 to 20,000 per annum with most of the residents employed as daily wage laborers, taxi drivers, and household helps. Four locations with this category of consumer base were suggested to provide a vendor connect in the given location. Of the three vendors engaged, two dropped out half way through the pilot due to a lack of availability. The pilot was finally executed in the Kanakpura locality of Jaipur.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Stakeholder engagement\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Within the subscription-based digital payment ecosystem for newspapers, we engaged with the following key stakeholders.\r\n\r\ni. <strong>Newspaper vendors:</strong> To introduce digital payment option through the Merapaper mobile application and promote incentives and other pilot levers to the consumer base across the identified low-income communities. In addition, vendors also evaluate payment solution during the pilot and adopt a commercial/sustainable business model based on pilot success, during as well as post pilot.\r\n\r\nii. <strong>Solution provider (Merapaper):</strong> To train vendors on application usability; provide a single channel for troubleshooting and grievance redressal; carry out periodic review of progress; and evaluate the need for any iterative change to the process. Finally, based on pilot learnings, the solution provider must develop scalable and sustainable models for large-scale roll out.\r\n\r\niii. <strong>Consumer:</strong> To interact with the vendor to evaluate the need for the solution and to provide feedback on solution features, value-added services and ease of use.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"TESTING AND SYSTEMIC INQUIRY\" 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\"]An iterative process of learning was followed where field implementation and data-driven decision making was efficiently combined for optimal impact. The focus of this approach was to identify means of instilling a behavior shift from cash to digital payments among consumers and small vendors. Presented here is the phase-wise description of the experiment designed for the pilot.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 1: Merchant identification and onboarding\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Phase 1 was initiated with the one-time set up of the process for UPI payment flow, vendor onboarding and registration of the selected distributor. CATALYST had an active role in this phase involving training of the distributor on the usability of UPI apps and onboarding activities.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Pre-post analysis backed by triangulation of information for validation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> In-depth interviews with vendors, distributors, etc. Surveys were conducted to gather preliminary information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Merchant information, business information, consumer base, payment collection data, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 2: Sampling and consumer onboarding:\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]To enhance the pilot’s focus and efficiency, CATALYST, along with the distributors identified a few colonies with a high concentration of the customer base where we could engage with a sample of 300 households.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment collection through UPI:</strong> The distributor then shared his Virtual Payment Address (VPA) along with the monthly invoice to collect payment from the consumer.\r\n\r\n<strong>Consumer onboarding and activation:</strong> The distributor along with a CATALYST agent, conducted his daily payment collection beat, where he introduced the agent to his customers after which the agent briefed these consumers about the benefits of the UPI app and helped them onboard the apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A participatory research technique was employed to gain context-rich insights from the vendor for the solution design. Information collected through the surveys was incorporated into the pre-post analysis.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Consumers were introduced to enumerators for the preliminary survey and awareness creation; in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation were also carried out to understand motivation and perception.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Consumer household data, vendor consumer-base information, payment practices, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 3: Handholding and triability\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Upon successful registration on UPI, consumers were nudged by the vendor to make their current month’s payment using UPI apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment reconciliation:</strong> Merapaper used consumer details (name and VPA) recorded during onboarding to manually reconcile the UPI payments daily and then reflect and update the same information on the distributor’s MeraPaper balance sheet (dashboard).\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A/B testing was incorporated to understand adoptability and usability of the mobile application and UPI payment triangulation\r\nof data to understand digital payment viability for subscription-based payments.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Focus group discussions with the vendor and consumers were conducted; participatory and non-participatory observation of payment and collection behaviour was conducted.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transactional data; payment practices; mobile application and UPI adoption and usage, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 4: Behavioral shift and monitoring\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong> The vendor generates automated invoices for all 200 consumers in the sample and sends them to the consumers using WhatsApp/SMS.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong>\r\n\r\na. Distributor 1: In order to test if incentives increase solution usage and uptake, the distributor shall provide incentives to consumers through discounts on the next month’s billing cycle, for payments made through UPI. Subject to uptake of the solution based on the incentive trigger, the incentive amount shall be incremented, if required.\r\n\r\nb. Distributor 2: To test the most effective way to trigger remote digital payments to send a collect request using UPI apps or to rely on self-initiated transactions to facilitate payments through the UPI apps, consumers will be divided in batches of 100.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Experimental research techniques used to test responses to the mobile app, UPI payments as well as incentives introduced to encourage adoption; pre-post analysis by comparing pre-implementation data with postimplementation data.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Surveys, interviews, observations and focus group discussion.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transaction data; information regarding sustained usage; incentive impact\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conversion funnel\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Figure 3 represents the consumer conversion funnel, i.e., the proportion of consumers engaged with through vendors who were successfully onboarded and sustained digital payments for newspapers.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40155\" 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=\"SCALING AND REPLICATION\" 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=\"Key findings\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>During the three-month long door-to-door campaign, we engaged approximately 300 consumer households in the experiment; 30 percent of these households adopted either a mobile-wallet or an UPI application.</li>\r\n	<li>The revenue from digital payments for the partner vendor increased 10-fold in the months following this active field engagement.</li>\r\n	<li>We saw 2 percent payment digitization in September 2017 which increased to 20 percent in January 2018. As of April 2018, i.e., close of experiment, approximately 60 percent of the vendor’s payments had been digitized.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Key challenges\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Vendor and consumer onboarding difficulties:</strong>Onboarding vendors onto the Merapaper application was a cumbersome and labor-intensive process. At the time of the experiment, the vendor needed to make a one-time effort of manually add all his/her consumer contact and other details on the application to start their subscription payment services. This lowered the speed at which the solution could achieve scale.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Business model niche:</strong> A typical newspaper vendor serves to 500-2,000 customers and a tier II city like Jaipur has, on average, 2,000-3,500 vendors. The newspaper vertical is a small niche use case that is fit for this solution. As the Merapaper model is specifically aimed at subscriptions and charges a small fee per transaction, operating in such a niche raises the risk of Merapaper’s financial sustainability. It opens up the potential to expand into subscription-based business such as milk, cable television and tiffin services.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Challenges with generic name:</strong> The name “Merapaper” made it difficult for the solution provider to scale to other verticals as the name literally translates to ‘my newspaper’.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Language barrier:</strong> During the experiment period, Merapaper supported three major Indic languages apart from English. It is crucial for solution providers to develop apps in local languages and dialects because of the low literacy rate among adults.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"SUMMING UP\" 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 Merapaper experience thus becomes an illustrative example of the learning-by-doing approach where the key challenges become the identified problems in the next iteration. The solution design incorporates changes based on the identification of the challenges. While it was part of CATALYST’s “Fintech for the Last Mile” incubation program, Merapaper rebranded itself as Bix42 to incorporate a range of other subscriptionbased services such as cable television and water cans, among others. It also continued to test its application’s User Interface (UI) to check if it was appropriately suited to the various services that were added to the platform.\r\n\r\nThe rebranding and UI overhaul tackled the business model niche, the generic name and the language barrier challenges for Merapaper. At the same time, this started the next round of iteration where, under CATALYST’s incubation program, the team’s innovation strategies met an exploratory actionoriented method. CATALYST facilitated the emergence of potential solutions to counter challenges at every stage of product development to arrive at a nearoptimal solution. A well-defined learning plan as well as a testing and feedback mechanism facilitated by CATALYST were instrumental in not just improving the solution but also ensuring that the experiment had considerable intended impact – that of promotion of digital payments and digital financial inclusion of micro entrepreneurs.\r\n\r\nThe experiment demonstrated how incremental knowledge production can result from collaborative learning among various stakeholders such as researchers, practitioners, technology experts and ultimately benefit the end-user.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Annex 1\" 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\"]The Annex features different research methodologies and tools that can be used to gather informed insights backed by evidence and data.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/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]', 'IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40130-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 10:07:41', '2019-01-18 10:07:41', '', 40130, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40130-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40164, 12, '2019-01-18 10:05:11', '2019-01-18 10:05:11', '[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=\"40038\"][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=\"IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH\" 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\"]CATALYST aims to significantly expand the use of digital payments between low-income consumers and merchants. Achieving this vision requires the identification, development, testing and implementation of innovative business models that are also scalable and sustainable. It also requires a conducive policy environment and a significant behavior change from consumers. Given the numerous stakeholders in the payments value chain, scaling new digital solutions requires that multiple coordination problems be addressed. Through this, the need arises for a context-specific approach, and a rigorous well-defined “learning and solving by doing” methodology. Such a methodology captures the adaptive process of innovation in real world settings where intractable challenges are being addressed. This note outlines the method that is specific to such a setting and underlines CATALYST’s learning process comprising rapid, data-driven, test-learn-and-build cycles with the aim to validate various innovative business models around digital payments that can further be scaled.\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=\"AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH\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\"]CATALYST, through its multiple partnerships, serves as an incubator of innovative business models built around digital payments as well as policy field experiments in real-world settings. This ecosystem approach is core to its ability to achieve sustainable impact on the longer-term and catalyze systematic change.\r\n\r\nComplex problems, such as digital payments, often remain unresolved, despite the will to address them. This is because the challenges in resolving them result from interconnectedness and complexities of different actors and aspects. Such challenges need to be studied through the lens of the ecosystem in which they exist. Many actors and factors can influence uptake of digital payments between merchants (supply) and low-income households (demand), or within supply chains. Failure to take into aspects such as the regulatory environment, technology innovation, customer need and constraints, as well as available infrastructure, among other aspects, into consideration would yield very limited impact. Central to the philosophy is blending an entrepreneurial innovative way of thinking with a grass root level approach to doing, to infuse transformative change.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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 SOLVING`` BY DOING MODEL\" 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\"]Addressing issues in real-word ecosystem settings through innovation requires an exploratory as well as an action-oriented method. This allows potential solutions to emerge and their iterative testing until evolution into an optimal solution. Key to the success of this process is a well-defined learning plan and testing in the intended use environment. It is characterized by incremental knowledge production and collaborative learning among various experts (researchers, practitioners, government, technology experts, etc.).\r\n\r\nThe process features the following broad steps:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identification:</strong> Focus on identifying persistent painpoints from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Solution Design:</strong> Collaborative approach to designing a solution and a commitment to an iterative process that allows continuous refinement of the solution. The solution design is based on developing assumptions from theory, practice as well as ensuring a well-defined plan for learning.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Testing and Systematic Inquiry:</strong> Implementing and testing the solution with the relevant partners and in the environment in which it is intended to be further replicated. This step involves systematic inquiry as learnings are derived and iterated accordingly. Clearly defined metrics are put in place to systematically evaluate, implement and improve the digital payment landscape. Information regarding the methods, tools and metrics used in this exercise are detailed in Appendix. A wide range of methods such as pre-post analysis, information triangulation, A/B testing, experimental and participatory research techniques. Research tools such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussion, etc., are used to gather context-rich information and data that are backed by evidence.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Scaling and Replicating:</strong> Devising a plan for scaling and replicating the optimal solution outcome and catalyzing a systematic and sustaining change in systems.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547795402510{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"40138\" 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=\"MERAPAPER: SUBSCRIPTION MODEL FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS CASE STUDY\" 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_custom_heading text=\"Background and context\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Merapaper (now Bix42) is a micro Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, a mobile application that provides digital invoicing and payment service to micro vendors. It focuses on attracting micro vendors whose business has a subscription model of payment. As the first step in this endeavor, it worked towards digitizing billing and invoicing for newspaper vendors, a prominent use case in any geographical area. The solution allowed vendors to keep a track of their consumer base and their respective balances. It generated automatic bills at the end of each month, which reduced the manual labor of maintaining ledgers. In addition, it enabled vendors to send bills to customers via multiple channels of communication such as WhatsApp, email and Short Message Service (SMS). The sections below described the learning by doing process followed by Catalyst.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Identification\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]A digital solution such as the Merapaper application that enables remote payment can ease out the pain in payment collection and accounts reconciliation in a subscription business model. The belief is that, through such a systemized digital subscriptionbased payment mechanism, distributors can realize the value proposition of adopting digital payment mechanisms, thereby eventually growing their business and consumers’ sustain usage as well as adopting digital payment mechanisms for other expenses as well.\r\n\r\nNewspaper distribution is a laborious manual process including daily distribution, invoicing and payment collection. While doorstep newspaper distribution is a streamlined process with a low error rate, the billing for it is largely a paper-driven process, one that is onerous and labor-intensive and can take-up to 10-12 hours every month. The monthly collection of payments is equally cumbersome and requires at least three or four repeat visits to each household. In reality, it takes 20-22 days for a newspaper vendor to recover the revenue for a given month. This also includes manual reconciliation and cash accounting for bookkeeping. A newspaper vendor works on moderate margins and relies heavily on timely consumer payments to maintain business cash flow. There is also an overhead spillage of up to 5 percent due to transportation charges and wages of staff engaged in invoice distribution and payments collection. Lack of awareness about the availability of digital payment options was a major reason for such a low percentage of digitally paying customers.\r\n\r\nMerapaper’s business model targets small vendors who generally belong to low- to middle-income households, and work more than 16 hours every day. Such vendors maintain a daily product purchase cycle. However, the subscription-based customer payment happens once every month or at longer intervals. Hence, these vendors continue to service consumers while extending a minimum of one month’s credit period. It is critical for these vendors to generate enough cash on a daily basis to run their business, make supplier payments and remain afloat.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"The business case for newspaper distributor to go digital\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The newspaper business is an ideal sector for payment and invoice digitization. The following section highlights the challenges faced by newspaper distributors that could be resolved with a solution such as the Merapaper app:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Manual process of invoice generation and payment collection:</strong> Newspaper vendors deliver newspapers on a daily basis to consumer households. They must visit each consumer household in person to collect the payments. Payment collection takes about 20-22 days from the date of invoice generation. And a distributor must allocate three to six hours daily and make two to three repeat visits to successfully complete payment collection for the month. Only 2-3 percent of the consumer base pays digitally.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Manual recording of receipts and reconciliation:</strong> Newspaper vendors maintain ledgers with details regarding bill payments and due amount. This task is a challenge due to its time-intensive nature and has the potential to disrupt a vendor’s working capital if mistakes are made.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Resource allocation and overhead cost:</strong> Big newspaper distributors hire temporary employees to complete the monthly payment collection. Along with employee salary, transportation costs chip away at the thin margins of a newspaper business.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Solution design\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]CATALYST worked with Merapaper to test the possibility of digitizing subscription-based payments. In addition to pilot testing the Merapaper application, we also aimed to test if the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform was appropriate to digitize newspaper subscription payments.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Theory of change\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Collecting payments from consumers is a time- and resource-consuming activity. Distributors struggle with several inconveniences due to cash collection. For example, costumers are sometimes unavailable or low-income subscribers may not have the payment amount available with them.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547558084322{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40141\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=\"Objective\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]In the wake of the given opportunity to digitize payments to newspaper vendors, the objective was to:\r\n\r\ni. Test whether UPI-based remote digital payments are an effective solution for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\nii. Test whether consumers adopt the UPI payment mechanism for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\niii. Understand the impact of UPI-based remote payment mechanism in creating value for distributor and consumer;\r\n\r\niv. Build a process workflow for the newspaper bill payment use case, which can help Merapaper to build a sustained business model; and\r\n\r\nv. Validate if Merapaper’s business model provides value to its distributors as an effective and user-friendly solution with a proposition to scale.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Focus areas\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The pilot was focused on peri-urban communities with household incomes in the range of INR 15,000 to 20,000 per annum with most of the residents employed as daily wage laborers, taxi drivers, and household helps. Four locations with this category of consumer base were suggested to provide a vendor connect in the given location. Of the three vendors engaged, two dropped out half way through the pilot due to a lack of availability. The pilot was finally executed in the Kanakpura locality of Jaipur.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Stakeholder engagement\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Within the subscription-based digital payment ecosystem for newspapers, we engaged with the following key stakeholders.\r\n\r\ni. <strong>Newspaper vendors:</strong> To introduce digital payment option through the Merapaper mobile application and promote incentives and other pilot levers to the consumer base across the identified low-income communities. In addition, vendors also evaluate payment solution during the pilot and adopt a commercial/sustainable business model based on pilot success, during as well as post pilot.\r\n\r\nii. <strong>Solution provider (Merapaper):</strong> To train vendors on application usability; provide a single channel for troubleshooting and grievance redressal; carry out periodic review of progress; and evaluate the need for any iterative change to the process. Finally, based on pilot learnings, the solution provider must develop scalable and sustainable models for large-scale roll out.\r\n\r\niii. <strong>Consumer:</strong> To interact with the vendor to evaluate the need for the solution and to provide feedback on solution features, value-added services and ease of use.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"TESTING AND SYSTEMIC INQUIRY\" 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\"]An iterative process of learning was followed where field implementation and data-driven decision making was efficiently combined for optimal impact. The focus of this approach was to identify means of instilling a behavior shift from cash to digital payments among consumers and small vendors. Presented here is the phase-wise description of the experiment designed for the pilot.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 1: Merchant identification and onboarding\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Phase 1 was initiated with the one-time set up of the process for UPI payment flow, vendor onboarding and registration of the selected distributor. CATALYST had an active role in this phase involving training of the distributor on the usability of UPI apps and onboarding activities.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Pre-post analysis backed by triangulation of information for validation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> In-depth interviews with vendors, distributors, etc. Surveys were conducted to gather preliminary information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Merchant information, business information, consumer base, payment collection data, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 2: Sampling and consumer onboarding:\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]To enhance the pilot’s focus and efficiency, CATALYST, along with the distributors identified a few colonies with a high concentration of the customer base where we could engage with a sample of 300 households.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment collection through UPI:</strong> The distributor then shared his Virtual Payment Address (VPA) along with the monthly invoice to collect payment from the consumer.\r\n\r\n<strong>Consumer onboarding and activation:</strong> The distributor along with a CATALYST agent, conducted his daily payment collection beat, where he introduced the agent to his customers after which the agent briefed these consumers about the benefits of the UPI app and helped them onboard the apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A participatory research technique was employed to gain context-rich insights from the vendor for the solution design. Information collected through the surveys was incorporated into the pre-post analysis.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Consumers were introduced to enumerators for the preliminary survey and awareness creation; in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation were also carried out to understand motivation and perception.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Consumer household data, vendor consumer-base information, payment practices, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 3: Handholding and triability\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Upon successful registration on UPI, consumers were nudged by the vendor to make their current month’s payment using UPI apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment reconciliation:</strong> Merapaper used consumer details (name and VPA) recorded during onboarding to manually reconcile the UPI payments daily and then reflect and update the same information on the distributor’s MeraPaper balance sheet (dashboard).\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A/B testing was incorporated to understand adoptability and usability of the mobile application and UPI payment triangulation\r\nof data to understand digital payment viability for subscription-based payments.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Focus group discussions with the vendor and consumers were conducted; participatory and non-participatory observation of payment and collection behaviour was conducted.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transactional data; payment practices; mobile application and UPI adoption and usage, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 4: Behavioral shift and monitoring\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong> The vendor generates automated invoices for all 200 consumers in the sample and sends them to the consumers using WhatsApp/SMS.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong>\r\n\r\na. Distributor 1: In order to test if incentives increase solution usage and uptake, the distributor shall provide incentives to consumers through discounts on the next month’s billing cycle, for payments made through UPI. Subject to uptake of the solution based on the incentive trigger, the incentive amount shall be incremented, if required.\r\n\r\nb. Distributor 2: To test the most effective way to trigger remote digital payments to send a collect request using UPI apps or to rely on self-initiated transactions to facilitate payments through the UPI apps, consumers will be divided in batches of 100.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Experimental research techniques used to test responses to the mobile app, UPI payments as well as incentives introduced to encourage adoption; pre-post analysis by comparing pre-implementation data with postimplementation data.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Surveys, interviews, observations and focus group discussion.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transaction data; information regarding sustained usage; incentive impact\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conversion funnel\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Figure 3 represents the consumer conversion funnel, i.e., the proportion of consumers engaged with through vendors who were successfully onboarded and sustained digital payments for newspapers.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40155\" 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=\"SCALING AND REPLICATION\" 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=\"Key findings\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>During the three-month long door-to-door campaign, we engaged approximately 300 consumer households in the experiment; 30 percent of these households adopted either a mobile-wallet or an UPI application.</li>\r\n	<li>The revenue from digital payments for the partner vendor increased 10-fold in the months following this active field engagement.</li>\r\n	<li>We saw 2 percent payment digitization in September 2017 which increased to 20 percent in January 2018. As of April 2018, i.e., close of experiment, approximately 60 percent of the vendor’s payments had been digitized.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Key challenges\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Vendor and consumer onboarding difficulties:</strong>Onboarding vendors onto the Merapaper application was a cumbersome and labor-intensive process. At the time of the experiment, the vendor needed to make a one-time effort of manually add all his/her consumer contact and other details on the application to start their subscription payment services. This lowered the speed at which the solution could achieve scale.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Business model niche:</strong> A typical newspaper vendor serves to 500-2,000 customers and a tier II city like Jaipur has, on average, 2,000-3,500 vendors. The newspaper vertical is a small niche use case that is fit for this solution. As the Merapaper model is specifically aimed at subscriptions and charges a small fee per transaction, operating in such a niche raises the risk of Merapaper’s financial sustainability. It opens up the potential to expand into subscription-based business such as milk, cable television and tiffin services.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Challenges with generic name:</strong> The name “Merapaper” made it difficult for the solution provider to scale to other verticals as the name literally translates to ‘my newspaper’.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Language barrier:</strong> During the experiment period, Merapaper supported three major Indic languages apart from English. It is crucial for solution providers to develop apps in local languages and dialects because of the low literacy rate among adults.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"SUMMING UP\" 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 Merapaper experience thus becomes an illustrative example of the learning-by-doing approach where the key challenges become the identified problems in the next iteration. The solution design incorporates changes based on the identification of the challenges. While it was part of CATALYST’s “Fintech for the Last Mile” incubation program, Merapaper rebranded itself as Bix42 to incorporate a range of other subscriptionbased services such as cable television and water cans, among others. It also continued to test its application’s User Interface (UI) to check if it was appropriately suited to the various services that were added to the platform.\r\n\r\nThe rebranding and UI overhaul tackled the business model niche, the generic name and the language barrier challenges for Merapaper. At the same time, this started the next round of iteration where, under CATALYST’s incubation program, the team’s innovation strategies met an exploratory actionoriented method. CATALYST facilitated the emergence of potential solutions to counter challenges at every stage of product development to arrive at a nearoptimal solution. A well-defined learning plan as well as a testing and feedback mechanism facilitated by CATALYST were instrumental in not just improving the solution but also ensuring that the experiment had considerable intended impact – that of promotion of digital payments and digital financial inclusion of micro entrepreneurs.\r\n\r\nThe experiment demonstrated how incremental knowledge production can result from collaborative learning among various stakeholders such as researchers, practitioners, technology experts and ultimately benefit the end-user.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Annex 1\" 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\"]The Annex features different research methodologies and tools that can be used to gather informed insights backed by evidence and data.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/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]', 'IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40130-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 10:05:11', '2019-01-18 10:05:11', '', 40130, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40130-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(40163, 12, '2019-01-18 10:03:28', '2019-01-18 10:03:28', '[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=\"40038\"][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=\"IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH\" 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\"]CATALYST aims to significantly expand the use of digital payments between low-income consumers and merchants. Achieving this vision requires the identification, development, testing and implementation of innovative business models that are also scalable and sustainable. It also requires a conducive policy environment and a significant behavior change from consumers. Given the numerous stakeholders in the payments value chain, scaling new digital solutions requires that multiple coordination problems be addressed. Through this, the need arises for a context-specific approach, and a rigorous well-defined “learning and solving by doing” methodology. Such a methodology captures the adaptive process of innovation in real world settings where intractable challenges are being addressed. This note outlines the method that is specific to such a setting and underlines CATALYST’s learning process comprising rapid, data-driven, test-learn-and-build cycles with the aim to validate various innovative business models around digital payments that can further be scaled.\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=\"AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH\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\"]CATALYST, through its multiple partnerships, serves as an incubator of innovative business models built around digital payments as well as policy field experiments in real-world settings. This ecosystem approach is core to its ability to achieve sustainable impact on the longer-term and catalyze systematic change.\r\n\r\nComplex problems, such as digital payments, often remain unresolved, despite the will to address them. This is because the challenges in resolving them result from interconnectedness and complexities of different actors and aspects. Such challenges need to be studied through the lens of the ecosystem in which they exist. Many actors and factors can influence uptake of digital payments between merchants (supply) and low-income households (demand), or within supply chains. Failure to take into aspects such as the regulatory environment, technology innovation, customer need and constraints, as well as available infrastructure, among other aspects, into consideration would yield very limited impact. Central to the philosophy is blending an entrepreneurial innovative way of thinking with a grass root level approach to doing, to infuse transformative change.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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 SOLVING`` BY DOING MODEL\" 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\"]Addressing issues in real-word ecosystem settings through innovation requires an exploratory as well as an action-oriented method. This allows potential solutions to emerge and their iterative testing until evolution into an optimal solution. Key to the success of this process is a well-defined learning plan and testing in the intended use environment. It is characterized by incremental knowledge production and collaborative learning among various experts (researchers, practitioners, government, technology experts, etc.).\r\n\r\nThe process features the following broad steps:\r\n\r\n1. <strong>Identification:</strong> Focus on identifying persistent painpoints from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Solution Design:</strong> Collaborative approach to designing a solution and a commitment to an iterative process that allows continuous refinement of the solution. The solution design is based on developing assumptions from theory, practice as well as ensuring a well-defined plan for learning.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Testing and Systematic Inquiry:</strong> Implementing and testing the solution with the relevant partners and in the environment in which it is intended to be further replicated. This step involves systematic inquiry as learnings are derived and iterated accordingly. Clearly defined metrics are put in place to systematically evaluate, implement and improve the digital payment landscape. Information regarding the methods, tools and metrics used in this exercise are detailed in Appendix. A wide range of methods such as pre-post analysis, information triangulation, A/B testing, experimental and participatory research techniques. Research tools such as surveys, interviews, focus group discussion, etc., are used to gather context-rich information and data that are backed by evidence.\r\n\r\n4. <strong>Scaling and Replicating:</strong> Devising a plan for scaling and replicating the optimal solution outcome and catalyzing a systematic and sustaining change in systems.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547795402510{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner width=\"1/6\"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=\"2/3\"][vc_single_image image=\"40138\" 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=\"MERAPAPER: SUBSCRIPTION MODEL FOR DIGITAL PAYMENTS CASE STUDY\" 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_custom_heading text=\"Background and context\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Merapaper (now Bix42) is a micro Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, a mobile application that provides digital invoicing and payment service to micro vendors. It focuses on attracting micro vendors whose business has a subscription model of payment. As the first step in this endeavor, it worked towards digitizing billing and invoicing for newspaper vendors, a prominent use case in any geographical area. The solution allowed vendors to keep a track of their consumer base and their respective balances. It generated automatic bills at the end of each month, which reduced the manual labor of maintaining ledgers. In addition, it enabled vendors to send bills to customers via multiple channels of communication such as WhatsApp, email and Short Message Service (SMS). The sections below described the learning by doing process followed by Catalyst.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Identification\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]A digital solution such as the Merapaper application that enables remote payment can ease out the pain in payment collection and accounts reconciliation in a subscription business model. The belief is that, through such a systemized digital subscriptionbased payment mechanism, distributors can realize the value proposition of adopting digital payment mechanisms, thereby eventually growing their business and consumers’ sustain usage as well as adopting digital payment mechanisms for other expenses as well.\r\n\r\nNewspaper distribution is a laborious manual process including daily distribution, invoicing and payment collection. While doorstep newspaper distribution is a streamlined process with a low error rate, the billing for it is largely a paper-driven process, one that is onerous and labor-intensive and can take-up to 10-12 hours every month. The monthly collection of payments is equally cumbersome and requires at least three or four repeat visits to each household. In reality, it takes 20-22 days for a newspaper vendor to recover the revenue for a given month. This also includes manual reconciliation and cash accounting for bookkeeping. A newspaper vendor works on moderate margins and relies heavily on timely consumer payments to maintain business cash flow. There is also an overhead spillage of up to 5 percent due to transportation charges and wages of staff engaged in invoice distribution and payments collection. Lack of awareness about the availability of digital payment options was a major reason for such a low percentage of digitally paying customers.\r\n\r\nMerapaper’s business model targets small vendors who generally belong to low- to middle-income households, and work more than 16 hours every day. Such vendors maintain a daily product purchase cycle. However, the subscription-based customer payment happens once every month or at longer intervals. Hence, these vendors continue to service consumers while extending a minimum of one month’s credit period. It is critical for these vendors to generate enough cash on a daily basis to run their business, make supplier payments and remain afloat.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"The business case for newspaper distributor to go digital\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The newspaper business is an ideal sector for payment and invoice digitization. The following section highlights the challenges faced by newspaper distributors that could be resolved with a solution such as the Merapaper app:\r\n\r\n1.<strong> Manual process of invoice generation and payment collection:</strong> Newspaper vendors deliver newspapers on a daily basis to consumer households. They must visit each consumer household in person to collect the payments. Payment collection takes about 20-22 days from the date of invoice generation. And a distributor must allocate three to six hours daily and make two to three repeat visits to successfully complete payment collection for the month. Only 2-3 percent of the consumer base pays digitally.\r\n\r\n2. <strong>Manual recording of receipts and reconciliation:</strong> Newspaper vendors maintain ledgers with details regarding bill payments and due amount. This task is a challenge due to its time-intensive nature and has the potential to disrupt a vendor’s working capital if mistakes are made.\r\n\r\n3. <strong>Resource allocation and overhead cost:</strong> Big newspaper distributors hire temporary employees to complete the monthly payment collection. Along with employee salary, transportation costs chip away at the thin margins of a newspaper business.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Solution design\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]CATALYST worked with Merapaper to test the possibility of digitizing subscription-based payments. In addition to pilot testing the Merapaper application, we also aimed to test if the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform was appropriate to digitize newspaper subscription payments.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Theory of change\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Collecting payments from consumers is a time- and resource-consuming activity. Distributors struggle with several inconveniences due to cash collection. For example, costumers are sometimes unavailable or low-income subscribers may not have the payment amount available with them.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=\".vc_custom_1547558084322{padding-top: 25px !important;}\"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40141\" img_size=\"728*520\" alignment=\"center\"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_custom_heading text=\"Objective\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]In the wake of the given opportunity to digitize payments to newspaper vendors, the objective was to:\r\n\r\ni. Test whether UPI-based remote digital payments are an effective solution for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\nii. Test whether consumers adopt the UPI payment mechanism for newspaper payments;\r\n\r\niii. Understand the impact of UPI-based remote payment mechanism in creating value for distributor and consumer;\r\n\r\niv. Build a process workflow for the newspaper bill payment use case, which can help Merapaper to build a sustained business model; and\r\n\r\nv. Validate if Merapaper’s business model provides value to its distributors as an effective and user-friendly solution with a proposition to scale.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Focus areas\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]The pilot was focused on peri-urban communities with household incomes in the range of INR 15,000 to 20,000 per annum with most of the residents employed as daily wage laborers, taxi drivers, and household helps. Four locations with this category of consumer base were suggested to provide a vendor connect in the given location. Of the three vendors engaged, two dropped out half way through the pilot due to a lack of availability. The pilot was finally executed in the Kanakpura locality of Jaipur.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Stakeholder engagement\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Within the subscription-based digital payment ecosystem for newspapers, we engaged with the following key stakeholders.\r\n\r\ni. <strong>Newspaper vendors:</strong> To introduce digital payment option through the Merapaper mobile application and promote incentives and other pilot levers to the consumer base across the identified low-income communities. In addition, vendors also evaluate payment solution during the pilot and adopt a commercial/sustainable business model based on pilot success, during as well as post pilot.\r\n\r\nii. <strong>Solution provider (Merapaper):</strong> To train vendors on application usability; provide a single channel for troubleshooting and grievance redressal; carry out periodic review of progress; and evaluate the need for any iterative change to the process. Finally, based on pilot learnings, the solution provider must develop scalable and sustainable models for large-scale roll out.\r\n\r\niii. <strong>Consumer:</strong> To interact with the vendor to evaluate the need for the solution and to provide feedback on solution features, value-added services and ease of use.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"TESTING AND SYSTEMIC INQUIRY\" 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\"]An iterative process of learning was followed where field implementation and data-driven decision making was efficiently combined for optimal impact. The focus of this approach was to identify means of instilling a behavior shift from cash to digital payments among consumers and small vendors. Presented here is the phase-wise description of the experiment designed for the pilot.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 1: Merchant identification and onboarding\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Phase 1 was initiated with the one-time set up of the process for UPI payment flow, vendor onboarding and registration of the selected distributor. CATALYST had an active role in this phase involving training of the distributor on the usability of UPI apps and onboarding activities.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Pre-post analysis backed by triangulation of information for validation.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> In-depth interviews with vendors, distributors, etc. Surveys were conducted to gather preliminary information.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Merchant information, business information, consumer base, payment collection data, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 2: Sampling and consumer onboarding:\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]To enhance the pilot’s focus and efficiency, CATALYST, along with the distributors identified a few colonies with a high concentration of the customer base where we could engage with a sample of 300 households.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment collection through UPI:</strong> The distributor then shared his Virtual Payment Address (VPA) along with the monthly invoice to collect payment from the consumer.\r\n\r\n<strong>Consumer onboarding and activation:</strong> The distributor along with a CATALYST agent, conducted his daily payment collection beat, where he introduced the agent to his customers after which the agent briefed these consumers about the benefits of the UPI app and helped them onboard the apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A participatory research technique was employed to gain context-rich insights from the vendor for the solution design. Information collected through the surveys was incorporated into the pre-post analysis.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Consumers were introduced to enumerators for the preliminary survey and awareness creation; in-depth interviews and non-participatory observation were also carried out to understand motivation and perception.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Consumer household data, vendor consumer-base information, payment practices, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 3: Handholding and triability\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Upon successful registration on UPI, consumers were nudged by the vendor to make their current month’s payment using UPI apps.\r\n\r\n<strong>Payment reconciliation:</strong> Merapaper used consumer details (name and VPA) recorded during onboarding to manually reconcile the UPI payments daily and then reflect and update the same information on the distributor’s MeraPaper balance sheet (dashboard).\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> A/B testing was incorporated to understand adoptability and usability of the mobile application and UPI payment triangulation\r\nof data to understand digital payment viability for subscription-based payments.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Focus group discussions with the vendor and consumers were conducted; participatory and non-participatory observation of payment and collection behaviour was conducted.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transactional data; payment practices; mobile application and UPI adoption and usage, etc.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Phase 4: Behavioral shift and monitoring\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong> The vendor generates automated invoices for all 200 consumers in the sample and sends them to the consumers using WhatsApp/SMS.\r\n\r\n<strong>Sending out bulk automated invoices:</strong>\r\n\r\na. Distributor 1: In order to test if incentives increase solution usage and uptake, the distributor shall provide incentives to consumers through discounts on the next month’s billing cycle, for payments made through UPI. Subject to uptake of the solution based on the incentive trigger, the incentive amount shall be incremented, if required.\r\n\r\nb. Distributor 2: To test the most effective way to trigger remote digital payments to send a collect request using UPI apps or to rely on self-initiated transactions to facilitate payments through the UPI apps, consumers will be divided in batches of 100.\r\n\r\n<strong>Methods:</strong> Experimental research techniques used to test responses to the mobile app, UPI payments as well as incentives introduced to encourage adoption; pre-post analysis by comparing pre-implementation data with postimplementation data.\r\n\r\n<strong>Tools:</strong> Surveys, interviews, observations and focus group discussion.\r\n\r\n<strong>Metrics:</strong> Transaction data; information regarding sustained usage; incentive impact\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=\"Conversion funnel\" 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_column_text text_color=\"#383b3b\" font_size=\"16px\" letter_spacing=\"\" el_class=\"lh22 ptext-justify\"]Figure 3 represents the consumer conversion funnel, i.e., the proportion of consumers engaged with through vendors who were successfully onboarded and sustained digital payments for newspapers.\r\n\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image=\"40155\" 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=\"SCALING AND REPLICATION\" 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=\"Key findings\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>During the three-month long door-to-door campaign, we engaged approximately 300 consumer households in the experiment; 30 percent of these households adopted either a mobile-wallet or an UPI application.</li>\r\n	<li>The revenue from digital payments for the partner vendor increased 10-fold in the months following this active field engagement.</li>\r\n	<li>We saw 2 percent payment digitization in September 2017 which increased to 20 percent in January 2018. As of April 2018, i.e., close of experiment, approximately 60 percent of the vendor’s payments had been digitized.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Key challenges\" 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\"]\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><strong>Vendor and consumer onboarding difficulties:</strong>Onboarding vendors onto the Merapaper application was a cumbersome and labor-intensive process. At the time of the experiment, the vendor needed to make a one-time effort of manually add all his/her consumer contact and other details on the application to start their subscription payment services. This lowered the speed at which the solution could achieve scale.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Business model niche:</strong> A typical newspaper vendor serves to 500-2,000 customers and a tier II city like Jaipur has, on average, 2,000-3,500 vendors. The newspaper vertical is a small niche use case that is fit for this solution. As the Merapaper model is specifically aimed at subscriptions and charges a small fee per transaction, operating in such a niche raises the risk of Merapaper’s financial sustainability. It opens up the potential to expand into subscription-based business such as milk, cable television and tiffin services.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Challenges with generic name:</strong> The name “Merapaper” made it difficult for the solution provider to scale to other verticals as the name literally translates to ‘my newspaper’.</li>\r\n	<li><strong>Language barrier:</strong> During the experiment period, Merapaper supported three major Indic languages apart from English. It is crucial for solution providers to develop apps in local languages and dialects because of the low literacy rate among adults.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n[/vc_column_text][/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=\"SUMMING UP\" 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 Merapaper experience thus becomes an illustrative example of the learning-by-doing approach where the key challenges become the identified problems in the next iteration. The solution design incorporates changes based on the identification of the challenges. While it was part of CATALYST’s “Fintech for the Last Mile” incubation program, Merapaper rebranded itself as Bix42 to incorporate a range of other subscriptionbased services such as cable television and water cans, among others. It also continued to test its application’s User Interface (UI) to check if it was appropriately suited to the various services that were added to the platform.</p>\r\n<p>The rebranding and UI overhaul tackled the business model niche, the generic name and the language barrier challenges for Merapaper. At the same time, this started the next round of iteration where, under CATALYST’s incubation program, the team’s innovation strategies met an exploratory actionoriented method. CATALYST facilitated the emergence of potential solutions to counter challenges at every stage of product development to arrive at a nearoptimal solution. A well-defined learning plan as well as a testing and feedback mechanism facilitated by CATALYST were instrumental in not just improving the solution but also ensuring that the experiment had considerable intended impact – that of promotion of digital payments and digital financial inclusion of micro entrepreneurs.</p>\r\n<p>The experiment demonstrated how incremental knowledge production can result from collaborative learning among various stakeholders such as researchers, practitioners, technology experts and ultimately benefit the end-user.</p>[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=\"Annex 1\" 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>The Annex features different research methodologies and tools that can be used to gather informed insights backed by evidence and data.</p>[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/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]', 'IMPLEMENTING INNOVATION THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM “LEARNING AND SOLVING BY DOING” APPROACH', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '40130-revision-v1', '', '', '2019-01-18 10:03:28', '2019-01-18 10:03:28', '', 40130, 'https://cashlesscatalyst.org/media/40130-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
