On 11th March 2020, our lives forever changed when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic (WHO 2021). COVID-19 struck over 200 countries globally and today, over 104 million people were infected (WHO 2021). This number is still growing each day. Experts are trying their best to identify the source of transmission of COVID-19 to humans so that the public can be more aware and take precautionary measures. One of the confirmed sources is physical money such as paper money and coins. Experts claimed that the virus can survive on the physical surface for days if it is not disinfected (Brown 2021). Thus, use of physical money in daily transactions might increase the risk of getting infected and it is safer to use e-money and e-wallet to carry out the daily transactions.
E-wallets are becoming more common to our daily transactions and everyone is good at using it. Even people do not know how to use it, at least they have heard about it. In a cashless economy, people are able to do their shoppings without carrying on any physical cash. There are a multitude of cashless economic activities and can be divided into e-wallet, plastic money, and online banking (IndianEra 2021). However, e-wallet is popular and used by almost all people. According to The Economic Times (2021), e-wallet is a type of electronic wallet which makes a transaction more convenient to consumers. It only needs to transfer money to the e-wallet that is linked with an individual’s account. It is free to download from Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Huawei App Gallery. Most of the business owners in every shopping mall that we frequently visited encourage the use of e-wallet. In addition, no additional fee that needs to be paid. That is why people have higher acceptance levels towards the e-wallet. Furthermore, e-wallet provides multiple discounts and cashback rewards to consumers when they shop at selected shops.
With the improvement of technology, people are used to relying on electronic devices such as smartphones, smart watches, or tablets. Nowadays, people are forgetful. However, there is one thing that people would always have with them 24-7, which is the smartphone. A smartphone is occupying a cardinal position in people’s lives. With the integration of e-wallet in our smartphones, everything is at the tip of our fingers. Users only need to show their e-wallet’s barcode to the cashier and in a few seconds, payment is done. The increase in digitization makes the transaction simplified and easier than ever. Not only does a cashless economy make people’s lives easier but it is also viewed as an efficient method to curb fake currency notes. All in all, a cashless economy enables people to have a modern lifestyle with modern solutions.
E-wallet is playing a prominent role in our daily lives. Users can easily check their account balances without going to the bank counter or nearest ATM. This can reduce the risk of being robbed physically since the e-wallet users do not carry any physical money. Many robbery cases are being reported. This could be the main reason people are switching to e-wallet to make their daily transactions rather than using paper money. During COVID-19 pandemic, e-wallet became essential to everyone. The government frequently advised people to monitor their social distancing in order to break the COVID-19 chain-infections. With an e-wallet, people could minimise their physical interactions with others. It is reported that the physical money carries harmful germs and probably COVID-19 viruses as it changes hands frequently (Brown 2020). With e-wallet, people do not have to rely much on paper money and transactions become more convenient and accessible.
In summary, there are loads of merits of using an e-wallet. For example, we can stay calm even if we forget our wallet at home when we are at the counter to make payment. Next, it is convenient for users to check their balances without going to the counter or nearest ATM. Furthermore, it can make us safer. In fact, most of our favourite online stores are accepting e-wallet and even provide many benefits such as discounts and cashbacks on selected products. So, why are we still hesitating? We should embrace the use of e-wallet. Every transaction is recorded and we can monitor our daily spendings. This can improve our budget planning by knowing where we spend our money. In conclusion, the existence of e-wallet in this world shows that civilisation is advancing and things are getting better and more convenient. Refusing the e-wallet is not a good decision as things are getting digitised and technology slowly infused with many aspects in our life. Hence, we should accept the fact that e-wallet is our new wallet that carries money.
