Digital payments gain momentum

New Delhi: November 8, 2016, in a message to Nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came up with a sudden decision wiping off Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes — a move termed demonetization — bringing the nation to a standstill. With the time, the Central government pushed for digital payments and which paid off as after demonetization people started using digital modes of payments.

According to the shopkeepers and the customers in Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini market, they have started paying through their debit or credit cards. Talking to the Millennium Post, Ashok Randhawa, President of Sarojini Nagar mini market trader association stated that after demonetization the use of cards had increased as the cash was not there in the market. "After demonetization, more than 90 percent of customers preferred digital mode for paying," said Randhawa.

Moving to Babu Market in Sarojini Nagar, one of the shopkeeper and the president of Babu Market Welfare association Kartik Lal stated that due to digital payment they have got the benefit."Cash translation is now easy and also we have to take less cash with us," said Lal. The people in the market were also fearing of cyber crime due to the online transaction. One of the shopkeepers told that he had two workers who did not know how to do the online transaction they can be trap easily by cyber fraud.''There should be more awareness on the digital payment initiatives," said the shopkeeper.

Pankaj Sandhu from Rubina Jewellers stated that there have been used of cards and also the different application of digital payment. "It took more than two months after which cash flow started to come and in our shop, after demonetization, there was the used of the card and after some time people started paying in the cash," said Sandhu.

Some of the shopkeeper (requested anonymity) stated that after demonetization there was no cash the only way was the payment through digital method.