“We cannot buy things from nearby shops anymore because they don’t have bills of higher denomination. So we head to malls or supermarket where we can pay using credit card and debit cards. Small businesses have taken a hit.”

— Aditya Mishra, a student in Amritsar

“We at least are able to manage some emergencies by making payments online, but to think of the plight of all the farmers, laborers and workers is highly disturbing.”

— Raghu Raman, a photographer in New Delhi

“For my parents, it was bit of a discomfort. My father had to take one full day off from his work to deposit and exchange old bills that he had. Same goes for my grandparents. Local vegetable vendors stopped setting up stalls as they don’t have cash to buy from farmers. Even though they have new bills of 2,000 rupees, they can’t use them unless the other person has enough cash to return the change.”

— Ashish Dubey, a software engineer in Bangalore

A smooth process for others

“Personally, my family has not been affected much. Yet. We managed to deposit the 15,000 or so we had in cash into our local post-office account, as the bank queue had already grown large.

“We live in a rural area, with a small town about four miles away where everyone goes to do most of their weekly shopping. As of now, the shopkeepers are still accepting the old 500 notes as a favor, and we have done most of our shopping either through those or on credit.

“The problems probably start coming some time later, though. As we near the deadline of Dec. 30, shops will stop accepting the old notes.”

— Badri Sunderarajan in Thekampattu

“My cash usage has always been minimal. I was barely affected. My parents who live in a smaller city faced very few problems. The lines outside banks disappeared within a couple of days and things are back to normal. Most small shops have started accepting digital wallets or credit cards.”

— Bhavin Shah, a consultant in Bangalore