Few takers for digital economy in Noida after cash flow is stabilised
Vendors and traders said that the improved cash supply in the new year has brought back old habits, as consumers have started paying for services with cash instead of using plastic money.
Even 60 days after the demonetisation of higher value notes, the cashless economy is yet to take off in Noida. Vendors and traders said that the improved cash supply in the new year has brought back old habits, as consumers have started paying for services with cash instead of using plastic money.
Nineteen-year-old Afroz, a meat vendor in Nithari meat market of Noida, has put up hoardings, outside his meat shop, stating that he accepts payments through online wallet system. He said that he is the first meat trader in the market to accept plastic money. However, his earnings through plastic money and online transfer have been negligible in the last few days.“My sales had dipped due to the cash crunch and I thought that accepting plastic money would help compensate for it. However, in the last two weeks, hardly three to four customers paid through the cashless modes. The bulk of my regular customers are villagers of Nithari who like to pay in cash,” Afroz said.
Similarly, many vendors in Noida have not yet bought card swipe machines as they believe that the improved supply in ATMs has normalised the situation to an extent.
HT had also reported that long queues outside ATMs and banks in Noida have reduced as they have been receiving sufficient cash supply. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also increased the daily withdrawal limit through ATMs from Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,500 from January 1.
“Now, everyone has cash in their wallets and prefer to pay in cash instead of going through the hassle of using other modes. I don’t see any point in installing an expensive card swiping machine worth Rs 15,000 at present. We think that the pre-demonetisation cash situation is not far away despite widespread reports of a persisting crunch,” Manohar Yadav, a grocery shop owner in Sector 27 market said.
SK Jain, president of the traders’ association of Sector 18, believes that despite demonetisation, even high-end shops have not turned totally cashless.
“Before demonetisation, the shops in Sector 18 said around half their transactions were done through digital modes. After the demonetisation, this has increased to roughly 75% of all transactions but it is still not 100%. That is because customers hesitate to deal solely through cards as they do not want to attract the government’s attention,” Jain said.