Rough ride for Indore residents as cabbies say no to e-payment

After the central government abolished high-denomination banknotes, many people, who use mobile application-based car or auto-rickshaw services to commute, are facing a hard time as drivers in Indore are not accepting payment through e-wallets.

After the central government abolished high-denomination banknotes, many people, who use mobile application-based car or auto-rickshaw services to commute, are facing a hard time as drivers in Indore are not accepting payment through e-wallets.

The crowd at banks was nearly double on Sunday as cash starved people rushed to withdraw or exchange money in Indore. (Shankar Mourya/ HT photo)

Juli Dhakar, a software developer, commutes to work daily by booking a mobile application-based car or auto-rickshaw. Now, she says she is facing trouble as many drivers accept her ride only if she pays in cash.

“With not much cash in hand and issues of ‘change’, I preferred to pay through e-wallets. But every time I book a rickshaw, driver cancels the ride if I tell him that I will pay through e-wallets.”

Similar problem was faced by Saumya Sharma, a bank executive.

She told HT, “After I booked a cab, I got a call from the driver asking if I would make the payment in cash. He cancelled the ride for after knowing that payment would be made through PayTM.”

When contacted, Shiv Bajpai, a driver with a mobile application-based car service, told HT that he accepts payments through e-wallets as it helps him to avoid ‘change’ hassle.

“I don’t know about other drivers but a lot of my customers have been paying through e-wallets, especially after the ban of currency and shortage of change in the market. It is convenient for my customers as well as of me since the payment is made in exact amount and neither of us has to keep the change ready,” said Bajpai.

An Uber official, however, denied the allegation, saying the company is yet to het any such complaint.

“No complaint regarding rejection of payments through e-wallets has been registered with us so far. In case, if a commuter faces this, they can write to us and we will immediately look into the matter,” said the official.