Though the jokes showing beggars receiving alms through card swipe machines are going to remain for some time, a local grocery seller and even milk-egg seller accepting payments through cards and PayTM has not remained a dream not to far post demonetization came into force on November 9. Banks in the city have claimed to be flooded with small merchants and traders queuing in front of bank counters to get a Point of Sale (PoS) machine for them to remain relevant in changing times after demonetization.
PoS machines, popularly known as card swipe machines are not new to traders and customers. But they were not as frequently used by shopkeepers as of now, because any payment made through credit/debit cards turns a record for that transaction. Customers having debit/credit card of any of the bank need not carry cash to shops using card swipe machines, as the amount payable to shopkeeper is directly paid from customer’s bank account.
“We are getting as many as around 50 queries everyday regarding availability of PoS machines and how to acquire one since a week. It is just a pleasant surprise for banks, as earlier the situation was other way round. Then we used to persuade customers to take a PoS machine and they used to refuse, now they come to acquire one and many a times we need to add him in waiting list for providing the machine,” said Punjab National Bank (PNB) Jharkhand Circle DGM PK Pradhan today.
The cash crunch after demonetization has forced shopkeepers to venture into cashless transaction, a national phenomenon these days. Even the shop-owners with a daily transaction of around Rs. 10,000 in their current account have been reported to rush into their bank branches to get one PoS installed at their shop. Pradhan said that the union government’s initiative to waive off transaction fee against transaction through credit/debit cards till December 30 has encouraged customers and shopkeepers also, to use this mode of payment.
“Our business had nosedived since a fortnight right after demonetization of two largest currency denominations. Then we decided to accept card transactions and now at least we can have some business back on track,” said a small grocery store owner Ramesh Kumar at Bariatu. He said that he was able to regain at least 35 per cent of the daily income since the day he got a PoS machine installed.
Though none of the banks including the market leader in distributing PoS machines in the city, HDFC Bank chose to divulge numbers related to increase cashless transactions, yet they all confirmed that they remained flooded with the new demand. Meanwhile, PNB has decided to install the PoS machine free of cost to any current account holder of the bank till December 30, Pradhan said. “We have decided to take no installation fees which happens to be Rs. 2,500 against PoS machine and its installation to encourage business fraternity use cashless transactions. However, they will have to pay a nominal monthly charge of Rs. 975 for cordless PoS machine, and Rs. 550 for machine with wire as was earlier,” Pradhan added.
Allahabad Bank Jharkhand Circle DGM SK Singh said that the bank was getting dozens of demands of PoS machines every day. “However, we are accepting only indigenous RuPay cards only, hence our market share in cashless transactions is not as encouraging as of those supporting MasterCard and Visa Cards. However, the demand is good,” said Singh.