Ever since Narendra Modi declared Demonetization in the country, people have had to resort to going cashless. The idea of not having to carry physical cash but instead able to pay everything through online transactions, swiping cards and Paytm. It seems like a perfect world not having to worry about change and cash in hand but the transition has already reached issues.
The city has been forced to resort to digital transactions since almost all ATMs are sporting a ‘No Cash’ sign. Several shops in Hyderabad have made arrangements for digital transactions but with an extra fee of Rs. 2 to Rs. 5.
A Hyderabad based economist, Telakapalli Ravi spoke to a news channel, “Mostly the medical shops in Hyderabad have been charging up to Rs. 10 for card payments, saying that they are being charged by the banks for the digital transactions. What is the motive of making India cashless, when people have to pay extra for e-transactions?”
Paytm has also been set up in tiny shops but transactions through it will also cost you more than you would pay with physical cash.
Mohit, a resident of Begumpet revealed his concern, “There is no cash in any of the ATMs. Every day I visit almost five to six ATMs but none of them have cash. Because of which, I have to make payments through Paytm mostly. Now, some of the Kirana shops in Begumpet area have started charging Rs. 5 for each transaction. This is a loss for the customers.”
“Paytm has been charging traders 2% extra as service charge. With this, I am hardly making any profit. So, I have started charging the customers for Paytm payments,” said Basheer, a general Kirana shop owner in old city Chandrayangutta.
Venkatramaiah Reddy, General Secretary of Bank Employee Federation of India for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh reported, “Before demonetisation banks did not charge anything for digital or card payment, however now after demonetization even the government has been forcing banks to charge minimum of 1% on digital transactions. As this has been affecting the profit of traders, they have started charging customers. Though this is illegal, this practice has become common in Telangana.”
The economist also said, “I would call it a big failure of the government. On the one hand, they are encouraging people to go cashless, on the other hand, they are levying charges for transactions as well as on withdrawal.”
