Some of these were sluggish following the consumption tax hike in April 2014 and thereafter, particularly in the period from the second half of 2014 to the first half of 2016, when global trade volume was sluggish. However, there also are some indicators that are falling currently. I will elaborate on this later.
When we decided to embark on this journey, we knew from the get-go that we have our work cut out for us. As it stands, the share of electronic payments in the estimated 2.5 billion monthly payment transactions in the country is a measly 1% based on a baseline survey conducted in 2013.