Rodrigo Schmidt, vice president of the company, points out that because of the pandemic, the use of credit has also decreased and electronic transfers and means of payments whose funds come from checking, sight or savings accounts have gained space.
According to the latest National Survey of Cash Use and Preferences carried out at the end of 2020 by the Central Bank, cash ceased to be the most used means of payment by Chileans and came in second place. The reason? For the first time, they led payments made with debit cards.
This trend, in the opinion of experts, is largely the result of the effects of the pandemic, which drove online payment, thus reducing the use of ATMs and payments directly with cash, also considering the need to avoid physical contact, keeping your distance and buying in person.
“Without a doubt, the issue of the pandemic has come to dominate more ground and it is the one that today directs purchasing behavior. People are using their money instead of going into debt and are becoming more cautious due to the economic crisis”, explains Rodrigo Schmidt, vice president of Khipu.
In this context, electronic transfers are the other great alternative to the use of cash, since the funds from which they come are current accounts, RUT accounts, savings accounts. Khipu, and its platform that simplifies electronic transfers, allows for the effective processing of these types of payments, allowing merchants to receive more digital payments.
Today Khipu has a debit payment alternative that works on any device, responsively, and on any browser. A payment solution that allows you to navigate safely and quickly, paying in a few seconds with any bank or financial institution in Chile.
“Among our clients we have seen that there is a growing need to receive electronic transfers, as an official means of payment, without this implying a difficulty. Not only because there are more people who pay or who want to pay with transfers, but also because businesses realize that they must expand their range of digital payment options. Besides that, they have learned that they can receive payments with a lower cost”, adds Schmidt.
Some advantages of transfers:
- The advantage overpaying with a debit card is that they can make payments for higher amounts (up to five million pesos).
- Another benefit is security, as a different password is entered each time a payment is authorized.
- An additional advantage is related to the administration of resources, since it helps to better manage money and avoid going into debt, achieving a greater financial order.
A factor that also influences this transfer boom, along with the lower use of cash, is the need for new technologies to be able to pay in person, and without contact. QR code payments are becoming more and more relevant since it does not require the use of physical cards to pay.
“They are easy-to-use technologies, since they only require scanning the QR code without downloading any additional app, with a very good user experience. In that sense, Khipu Web is an excellent alternative for different industries, for paying bills and especially when there is a strong tendency to want to spend money without getting into debt, where in addition, payments of low and high amounts can be made, even those that cannot be done with a credit card”.