Demand for cash in India remains high despite government demonetization, presenting a strong case for Dash adoption.
According to data by the Reserve Bank of India, cash withdrawals from ATMs amounted to 2.259 billion, an increase over last year. This is despite last year’s demonetization effort, recalling larger denominations of bills in an effort to move to a more cashless society, provoking economic upheaval. ATM withdrawals remaining high indicates that there is still an increasing demand for cash in the Indian economy.
Dash could present a powerful alternative to cash
Remaining demand for cash in India could provide a unique opportunity for Dash adoption. Like cash, Dash is private, allowing for frictionless transactions without worrying about establishing sufficient paperwork. Additionally, not everyone has access to banking services, including adequate forms of identification necessary to opening an account. With Dash, anyone can get a wallet and start using it instantly, removing a significant barrier to adoption.
Where Dash improves on the cash model is by allowing for instant, cheap transfers to anyone anywhere in the world, without incurring the high fees, delays, and uncertainty that are the hallmarks of distance transfers for the unbanked. Finally, and most importantly, Dash is not controlled by any single centralized entity, and as such is not subject to government censorship or, in the case of India, a central bank arbitrarily invalidating large denominations of the currency, causing financial chaos.
There are, however, some challenges to switching to Dash, such as an education barrier and relatively limited adoption. Additionally, due to its digital nature, using Dash is restricted to those with access to internet-connected electronic devices, which for the time being excludes certain portions of the global population.
The go-to digital cash alternative used to be Bitcoin
For years, Bitcoin stood as the great bastion alternative to the banking system for the third world. This is represented by a steady growth in local trading volume, currently standing at more than $33 million weekly. However, due to network congestion and an ongoing scaling impasse, average transaction fees have now exceeded $1.50, making Bitcoin untenable to use for the world’s poor.
