A year on, shopkeepers prefer cash payment

In a small makeshift tea stall in Connaught Place, a worn-out sticker reads ‘Paytm payments accepted’. This was stuck a year ago, when consumers were facing major shortage of cash because of demonetisation.

The stall has stopped accepting digital payment a year later. Owner Brijesh said he prefers payment in cash.

“I have to pay cash for sugar, tea leaves and milk. The seller does not accept Paytm or any other form of digital payment. If my customers pay via Paytm, I will not be able to buy these items,” Mr. Brijesh said.

He said he had started accepting Paytm payments for some time following the November 8, 2016, announcement. However, craze for the digitisation “trend” wore off soon enough.

“It would have worked if the entire network followed the digital mode of payment. For a small businessman like me, it is not feasible,” he said.

The Hindu went around the city to see if demonetisation had actually managed to maintain its promise of empowering small businesses by encouraging them to switch to digital transactions.

In some neighbourhoods, grocery shops and other small businesses had started accepting digital payments. However, cash is still the popular medium of exchange in many areas.

Sandeep Parashar, a grocer in Dwarka Sector 6, said even though he has switched to digital payments most of his customers prefer to pay cash. “My customers have the option to use digital modes of payment, but a majority of them prefer to pay cash,” Mr. Parashar said.

Internet connectivity

He said one of the major problems when it comes to payments via digital modes is Internet connectivity and network problems in certain areas of the market.

“There are certain areas in the market where the network is slow and these sites do not open. If the network improves, perhaps people will slowly switch to digital payments. But for now, cash is the most convenient mode of receiving payments,” he said.