Scan-and-pay mode of transaction facilitating digital payments even in local and street markets

By V. Shourabh

There has been overwhelming response from India’s smaller cities and towns for online payments. Kirana store owners, vegetable and fruit vendors, roadside vendors, food stalls, pharmacies small-time pushcart soda vendors and many more merchants now accept Paytm.

Aligned with the vision of a New India and a Digital India, Mysuru is also going cashless in terms of transactions. Though the customer has the option to choose from a plethora of payment options like cash payment, credit card payments, net banking etc., the Paytm usage in the city is slowly gaining momentum.

The city seems to be favouring a cashless environment that speeds up customer-vendor interaction. With transactions happening within the blink of an eye, Paytm has been the need of the hour for fellow vendors and sellers to attract customers and to avoid hassles of cash management, depositing money and persistent issues like lack of change.

This scan-and-pay mode of transaction is facilitating digital payments even in the local markets. Star of Mysore happened to interact with a few street vendors who have gone digital.

Raju, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, sells lime soda on his cart near the DC’s Office. He encourages people to use Paytm, a QR-based payment solution, for transactions. He says, “Many people, not just youngsters, even middle-aged people pay money through Paytm and buy lime soda. This mode of transaction makes customer happy and also makes it easy for me as I need not handle physical cash,” he says.

“Customers find this mode of transaction very convenient and many come to buy soda after seeing the board. One of the agents from Paytm created this platform for me during the end of January and he created a Paytm account and linked it to my bank account. I find this transaction to be reliable and secure as it saves time both for me and the customer. As the money gets directly deposited in the bank, I feel this mode of transaction should be implemented by people as well as sellers. I also get cash back every month for the transactions I make that gets deposited into my account directly.”

Another factor that is favouring Paytm is that if a merchant has cash in his hands, it may not reach his family. “I manage to earn Rs.300 to Rs.500 profit every day and earlier it was difficult to resist temptation from friends for a drink or two in the evenings. Now since the money goes directly to the bank, I am happy that the money remains with the family. My daily family expenses are managed by the cash that other customers give men as they don’t use Paytm,” says Shankar, who sells vegetables in Vijayanagar in a push cart.

One of the customers, Likith, said, “Earlier, this mode of transaction used to be seen in showrooms or malls. But it’s good to see that even the local vendors and roadside carts also having Paytm mode of transaction. Even we are not worried if we don’t have cash in our wallets, as we can pay the amount directly by scanning the code through our phones. Technology is something that needs to be used more effectively even in local markets. With such technology and platforms, business will head in the right direction.”

Mahadev and Rajappa from Kirugavalu also use Paytm mode of transaction for their business. They sell grapes and seasonal fruits near the Oval Grounds. Rajappa said, “Me and my uncle Mahadev have been doing business here for quite some time. We were aware of money going digital but had never used it earlier. Last week, we were introduced to Paytm and we are also slowly learning to understand the concept of digital transaction. We feel happy as the money is safely deposited in our bank within seconds. Many customers pay through this mode and we feel good about it.”

Sugarcane juice seller Santosh Kumar is in the same business from the past six years. He has also added Paytm mode of transaction facility to his customers. He said, “Earlier when customers used to give Rs.2,000 or Rs.500 notes, we had to check with others or nearby shops if they had change. Now, the customer can exactly pay the change with just a scan. So, the hassle of giving the exact change, confusion on who paid or not or who paid what amount is instantly eliminated especially when you have multiple customers at the same moment.”

“The transaction is authentic and we can check it on our phones easily. We get a message once the transaction is done and this mode of payment is safe and secure. There is a record maintained for every transaction. It makes our business and transaction process easy. Even many customers prefer this mode of payment.”