DPS 2.0: on the road to a cashless society

While cash will eventually become a thing of the past, marketing researchers have given little attention to the rise of cashless markets and the obstacles and opportunities they present. In fact, research that addresses the strategic approach to planning, coordinating, and executing the cashless adoption and experience for consumers is scant. To stimulate discussion and scholarly investigations into marketing’s contribution toward the evolution of cashless economies, this Idea Corner presents a research agenda that delineates the role of DPS 2.0, a new era of digital payment systems, in fueling the demonetization process. We offer that, compared to traditional payment systems (DPS 1.0), DPS 2.0 provides consumers and merchants cashless, virtual, automated, flexible, faster, and interoperable (The ability of DPS 2.0 systems to be compatible and operable across providers, software, and payment portals) means of payment. However, the promise of DPS 2.0 is clouded with concerns of opportunism, security, and fraud. This paper outlines these issues and provides corresponding future research opportunities within five areas of DPS 2.0 (digital wallets, cryptocurrency, virtual currency, facial recognition, and mobile payments).