Hyderabad: Mobile wallets saw a boom in the post-demonetisation period with everyone adopting wallet apps to overcome the currency crisis till the second week of March 2017. But, these days, both customers and merchants are not so keen on these apps.
As per a national survey, wallet apps played a key role during and post-demonetisation, when they were used to pay for food, travel, consumer goods, apparel, education and other sectors.
Even roadside chaiwalas and panipuri carts had Paytm codes towards payments of bills from at least Rs 5. G. Shankar, a tea stall holder from D.D. Colony said, wallet apps were boon to those with a bank balance but no cash in hand.
“I used a wallet app for collecting bills towards tea, coffee, snacks etc. It is a good mode of payment system. But, now everyone is paying cash and not using their wallet apps,” he said. M. Pradeep Kumar, a techie from Madhapur, said everyone wanted a cashless society and things went on track for about six months.
“Cashless transaction system is needed for a better society. After demonetisation, law and order was under control, bribery cases did not come up in any newspaper and everyone adopted online transactions and mobile wallets. Now, everything is gone. When I tried to pay cash through mobile app, shopkeepers are declining. Traders are demanding cash payments instead of cashless transactions,” he said.
