While the Government is directing different department officials to ensure and accept card driven payments in their offices across the State, business outlets are found denying cashless payments in many places. Recently, a young man had to leave his wife and little kid in a restaurant inside one of the most crowded public parks in capital city only to fetch some money from any of the bank ATMs around because the restaurant had denied accepting card payment.
“It was embarrassing to leave wife and kid in restaurant inside Rock Garden only to get some money from any ATM nearby. Unpleasantly, this was not any exception at all. I had left my bike in one of the service centres last months, and they refused card payments, first saying that they didn’t have any card swipe machine, then pretending that it went missing, and finally resting on saying that the link has failed,” said Kumar Rakesh, a CA in a Ranchi based company.
Interestingly, the entire environment which appeared to have changed since post demonetisation as far as accepting electronic payment alternatives was concerned has largely returned back to pre-demonetisation era with shopkeepers, regardless big or small, denying card payments citing practical-artificial reasons.
Notably, Government has been consistently pushing cashless mode of payments at all levels right since the day it launched cashless campaign from Nagri block on December 2 last year. “There might be momentous issues like failure of links or any other thing with anyone. But refusing payment through electronic mode is something not acceptable as there is no shortage of neither card swipe machines in banks, nor mobile applications for cashless payments,” said a Punjab National Bank official.
“There must be a call centre set up by Government which deals with such issues. A centre which could help customers out in case of non acceptance of card payments, as shopkeepers have lot many pretentions the moment customer pushes one of the cards from wallet. I am not aware any such call centre exists or not,” said Raman Sinha who had gone to purchase a tri-cycle for his three year old daughter at a cycle store near Albert Ekka Chowk on Friday and had been denied card payment.