With digital transaction being the centre of attention and new normal while excluding the not-so-privilege section of societies, Ogilvy a New- York based British advertisement agency who’s new chant is to believe in the cash-inclusive society introduces ‘Blink’.
The man behind this fintech Henry Medina says “Blink goes from an offline need to an online solution. We may be talking about the missing link between traditional banking culture and the digital one”.
The start-up has been started in Bolivia by Ogilvy to deliver cash to areas without any ATMs closer to them. It is a cash delivery service via cab which will be providing cash to customers claiming for one. It is a country with 40 ATMs with a population of 100,000 citizens and this new start-up is making cash available on the go to the far and distant. Blink has been awarded a fundraising contract and was consciously appreciated for its effort in making cash available for all.
How does Blink operate?
Just like any other service-providing applications Blink users are asked to enter the amount they want to withdraw. The amount is taken out from the customers registered bank account in return for a service fee. Any nearby taxi driver picks-up the amount and then delivers it to the respected customer and once the delivery has been notified as to successful, the driver receives a code allowing them to withdraw their due amount plus commission from an ATM.
It has been noticed that Bolivia is growing in terms of their respective ATMs, the concept of mobile ATMs have encouraged people staying in the vicinity to open up a bank account. The start-up has plans to power-up cash access.
This new fintech innovation comes with pros ad cons while the innovator shows a slight sign of concern for the delivery’s safety. There have been many cases in the past where Uber cab drivers were victims of assault, the reason- cash.
Covid-19 has hit the globe like a thunderbolt and people are switching to the cashless economy while losing trust in the cash-inclusive economy because of the new normal surrounding it. Apart from hurting most industries, the pandemic has sped up the transaction towards a cashless digital economy. With cash continuing to be the number one source of payment it won’t be an easy way procedure to eradicate it.