Hyderabad: Wholesalers spoiling plans to go cashless

Hyderabad: The Central and state governments are practically browbeating the public to switch to digital and cashless payment systems, but wholesalers, traders in electronics and sports goods and general stores in the city still want customers to pay in cash.

Although the banks have provided Point-of-Sale (POS) machines to business establishments, traders prefer not to use them. Traders in wholesale markets in Begum Bazar, Osman Gunj, Mahbub Mansion Market etc are avoiding cashless transactions.

“We are facing problems with paying cash to farmers and are demanding customers for the same,” a Begum Bazaar trader said. Additional Director of Marketing Department G. Laxmi Bai said that there are impediments to cashless transactions in agricultural markets that need to be set right.

“We have implemented e-NAM in Nizamabad market. Traders are transferring the money into farmers’ accounts but they are not immediately getting the money in their accounts — it is reflecting after two or three days. This is why farmers demand cash payments. In city agricultural markets also, the farmers are demanding cash only,” she said.

The surcharge for swiping cards at POS was another disincentive. “Although banks are providing cashback to customers on POS swiping, the 0.5 per cent is not coming back because it goes as royalty to service providers. We have written to the Central government about this,” she said.