In Ahmedabad markets, there is a jump in swipe machine transactions, and mobile payment.
Jagdish Bhai, a retired government official in Ahmedabad, went shopping for vegetables on Tuesday, dreading the loss of precious cash, but he was in for a pleasant surprise. His local grocer had put up a big hoarding announcing that he now accepts payment by credit and debit cards.
Delighted, Jagdish Bhai said: "There is a huge cash crunch. We have to make purchases sensibly. The card facility is a huge benefit to me."
As a matter of fact, Amit, the grocer, had little choice. His sales had fallen since the notes ban, "We were suffering significant losses. But with the swipe machine facility customers are coming back to buy. It's undoubtedly a relief," he said.
According to banks, there has been a jump in cashless payments. "There has been an increase of about 50 to 60 per cent in swipe machine transactions," said Gloria Masih, an executive of the State Bank of India.
Not just swipe machine transactions, there has been a jump in mobile payment too. Vansh, owner of a small pan kiosk in Ahmedabad, is now offering Paytm transactions. "For the first few days, I had to provide credit facility to my customers since they didn't have cash. The Paytm facility has helped tide over that crisis," he says.
Though a large number of people are still using cash to make payments since they do not have cards or mobile phones, with more and more small traders going cashless, the situation could soon ease a little.
In a move that could further ease the situation, online payment company Paytm as launched a new feature. Its Android app now
allows a shopkeeper to accept a credit card or debit card for payment even if the customer does not have a Paytm e-wallet.