Pays to be smart

Not carrying enough cash? From your neighbourhood vegetable seller to flower vendor, from the chaiwallah near your office to the roadside biriyani shop that you frequent – you can now pay them through your debit card or digital wallet! With ‘cashless economy’ becoming the catchphrase these days, a few small-scale vendors across the city have taken the plunge, accepting credit and debit cards as well as payments through platforms such as Paytm. 

Chidambaram T, a vegetable vendor in Kotturpuram, started offering his regular clients the freedom of paying through cashless means. After demonetisation, he installed an EDC machine (popularly known as card swiping machine) and opened a Paytm account. The result – he said his business has soared over the past few weeks. “I tell my customers that they can pay me by card or Paytm, as it is hassle free. Many of my regular customers are happy to do so. For us, it means that business goes on – cash or no cash,” said the entrepreneur.

For many small vendors, these alternate modes of payment are a boon, to ensure regular service. Nagesh, a tea-stall owner in Vepery, has many regular customers who buy on credit and pay at the end of the month. “Over the last month, we have been short of change. Since most of the dues are around Rs 1,000 to 1,500 this month, we acquired a card swiping machine, which has been convenient,” he said. 

Without a proper infrastructure in place for cashless economy, problems such as network issues and slow connectivity are common. Senthil Kumar, a 20-year-old who runs a biriyani joint in Guindy, said he started accepting payments via Paytm over the last two weeks. “While most of our customers still pay by cash, there are quite a few who have started paying through this platform. We face network issues at times, which means we must make customers wait for 5-10 minutes,” he said. 

The sabha canteens too have gone cashless. However, the transformation into the ‘cashless’ system was fraught with inconveniences. Mount Sreenivasan, who runs the famous Mountbatten Mani Iyer canteen, applied for a card swiping machine but only got it after a war with his bank’s head office in Mumbai. “The privatised bank said that there were not enough machines and the delivery was taking time. I managed to get the machine only three days ago. Almost all our customers now prefer to pay by card, because they can hold on to the cash, which is in short circulation. Accepting payment through card is easier than platforms like Paytm, which have a limit of Rs 20,000 per month. For a business like ours, where the daily turnover is Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh, this is hardly sufficient,” explained this caterer. 

The limits on such platforms have posed a problem. Food and film blogger Gopinath Rajendran, who is also an avid biker, faced a similar issue when he had to make a payment via Paytm for a ride he wanted to undertake. “I was scouting for accommodation in Kundapur, Karnataka for the upcoming BOBMC Rider Mania 2017 event. I had to make an urgent payment of Rs 6,000 to a fellow rider, who had a slot left. When I tried sending it, the app notified me that I can only send across Rs 5,000 in one transaction. Hence, I had to go through the procedures twice to make the payment. If the app would allow me to send as much as I want in subsequent transactions, they might as well allow users to send it at one go,” explained the 26-year-old. 

Despite limited transaction amounts and network issues, alternate payment options have been largely welcome by the customers. Manikandan K, a photographer who was dining at Mountbatten canteen, said, “Since demonetisation, I have only been using my card. It is such a relief that more outlets are accepting payment through card.”

However, not all small-scale vendors have warmed up to the concept. The flower and vegetable markets at Koyambedu still deal with cash transactions. VR Soundarajan, honorary president, Koyambedu Vegetable Market Association, said most small-scale vendors lack the expertise to go cashless. “There should be a session where people are taught to use the technology before thinking of a cashless economy as many small-scale vendors have only a basic level of education. Koyambedu markets going cashless will definitely take a long time,” he concluded.

The demonetisation and subsequent talk of a ‘cashless economy’ has resulted in many smaller establishments applying for EDC or card swiping machines. Banks say that the request, over the last month, has almost tripled. An employee at a privatised bank in the city said, “The requirement has tripled. Earlier, the demand would be for 10-20 card machines in an area. Now, we are getting requests for almost 50 to 60 card machines. In Chennai alone, the number of requests would have gone up to almost 600. It takes 7-10 days to issue a card swiping machine.” A senior official at a nationalised bank said that while the request for card swiping machines has soared, government-driven digital payment options such as Aadhaar payment app would soon be hugely popular among smaller establishments as well as rural areas. “True, the demand for EDC machines has risen, but there may not be enough machines to meet the need. But with the recent launch of Aadhaar payment app, any business can easily go cashless,” said the bank official. 

A massive demonstration against demonetisation by public sector employees belonging to banks, insurance companies, BSNL, State and Central Government, was held at Valluvar Kottam on Tuesday. 

M Duraipandian, General Secretary of Confederation of Central Government Employees and Workers, said that it has been nearly 50 days since demonetisation was announced and the situation has still not improved. “With the New Year and Pongal coming up as well as salary day, there is not enough money to circulate. We are also protesting that privatised banks have been allocated more money than public sector banks. RBI data showed that three privatised banks were allocated 6,900 crores while 27 nationalised banks had to manage with Rs 7,000 crores. We want the government to immediately circulate more money and alleviate the cash crunch,” he said.