Currency crisis spurs need-based bartering

CHENNAI: With less cash in the economy, people are finding innovative ways to barter goods for their needs. When Gaurav Munjal, co-founder, Unacademy travelled in Mumbai during the weekend in an autorickshaw, he swiped his card to purchase 5 kg rice for the auto driver in lieu of cash.

Anil Singh, a Delhi commuter resorted to a similar method to pay for auto rides. “The auto driver is a regular, but refused to take money on credit. So I swiped my card to get him a bag of rice. In case I am not lucky with getting cash today ,I will continue to pay for my ride that way until things change,“ Singh added.

“With several weddings and functions getting postponed or cancelled due to the cash crunch, bartering of needbased goods and services is seeing an uptick among wedding planners. I was taking care of floral decorations for a wedding in Delhi when the clients offered to barter a mobile phone. It seemed a fair deal,“ said Rieti Phalper, a wedding planner who made the transaction on bartering app Let's Barter India.

Facebook groups and bartering apps are witnessing an increase in the number of downloads and transactions. Pooja Bhayana, co-founder, Let's Barter India, says that the app and the Facebook page are seeing requests for need-based bartering. “People are exchanging crackers for face masks in Delhi, owing to high pollution,“”she adds.

The app has its downloads double and a 150% increase in the number of transactions post-demonetisation.

Social media was teeming with instances of such bartering. Kirana stores were accepting card payments in exchange for mobile top-ups and recharge. Vidya Krishnan, a journalist from New Delhi, tweeted that the gurdwara near her mother's house broke its donation box and distributed cash to everyone. She had recharged her vendor's mobile in exchange for vegetables. Tanushree Sahani, a lawyer in Bangalore, said she had no cash to pay for a taxi ride “I paid by filling petrol in his car using my card,” Sahani added.