Hit by shortage, banks unable to provide swipe machines to traders

NT NETWORK
PANAJI
It is more than six weeks since demonetisation of high-value currency notes was announced by the Centre, but the misery of public is far from over and people are struggling to stay in tune with the daily changing rules of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Goa government is planning to transform the state into a cashless economy by the end of this year. However, the banks have made it difficult for the traders, as the card swiping machines are in short supply.
A chemist in the capital city of Panaji said that despite his constant reminders, bank is yet to provide him the card swiping machine.
“Customers are willing to swipe the card in the absence of lower denomination notes and I am willing to accept money in the electronic mode, but the banks are not able to provide the machines. Whenever I ask them, the response they give is that the bank is facing a shortage and, therefore, from their central level itself, they are unable to provide the swiping machine,” he said.
On the other hand, restaurants and small businesses are yet to install card swiping machines, while those that have installed the machines charge customers 2 per cent charge that the bank imposes on the vendor for using the machine, or have set a minimum bill to swipe a card.
In an incident that occurred on Tuesday at St Inez in Panaji, a couple after having dinner wished to pay by card but the restaurant manager declined and demanded that they pay in cash despite having the machine. “When we enquired, he said that the minimum bill has to be Rs 300 or else they do not accept cards,” the couple said.
Meanwhile, amidst cases of skimmers attached to ATMs and swiping machines being unearthed, people are expressing anxiety over using their cards. In a similar incident, a youth, who swiped a card at a confectionery outlet was told that the vendor had not received the money despite the customer receiving message from the bank that the money was debited. The youth said, “I argued with him that I wouldn’t pay by cash since I have already received the bank SMS. However, I’m anxious because of the recent cases of skimmers being used on such swiping machines.”
Meanwhile, the changing rules of the RBI have made the public jittery and chartered accountants (CAs) are having a hard time. A Porvorim-based CA said that the customers are calling him any time of the day, whenever they come across some new change. “Many a time, they are in a panicky situation, as the RBI is changing the rules constantly, almost on a daily basis. By the time people are able to come to terms with one rule, they are faced with another change in the rule. Sometimes, the traders are put into a panicky situation due to the rumours, which are spread through social media but are difficult to verify instantly,” he stated.