Cash, not card, reigns supreme in city

Madurai: Three years after demonetization, Madurai, which has a sizeable middle class population, is still most comfortable with cold, hard cash and seems to have given the idea of a ‘cashless economy’ the cold shoulder.

While on one hand we see even roadside tea shops having a POS machine or Google Pay or Paytm in many cities, on Madurai’s popular street for jewellery shops near Meenakshi Amman temple, even jewellers prefer cash over card transactions.

“Even for huge amounts over Rs 15,000, we still take only cash. It has been how it is here. Some people have asked if we accept cards but even they later give in cash when we tell them. We are not losing customers, so why do we need digital payment?” asks Jagadeeswaran G, who owns a shop on South Avani Moola street.

When a medical shop owner in Anna Nagar was asked if they had at least a POS machine so they could attend to customers who may have only a card and maybe facing an emergency, he calmly replied that ATMs were nearby and people can easily go and get money. “We never felt the need to get digital payments even during and after demonetization,” said P Rajan.

Most of the businesses in Madurai including medical shops, textile showrooms, hotels, taxi services and even educational coaching centres seem to prefer cash because most of their customers pay in cash.

“One person out of hundred asks for card payment here. Our Chennai branch has digital payment facilities. We were also asked to buy POS machine if required but we said we have no need for it. Most of the students are from middle class families. They have only cash,” said Nivethitha R, who runs a private computer training centre at Simmakkal.

On the other hand, some shopkeepers claim that most business owners and customers in Madurai are still yet to be fully aware of digital transactions and how to keep track of it.

“We have had several issues with bank transactions of debit cards. Some customers say they didn’t receive the message that money has been debited from their account. So when we swipe again, the money gets debited for the second time. It is a headache to go after banks to refund the customers. So, better we ask for cash instead,” said Anitha K, a cashier at a textile and accessory shop on Jadamuni Koil Street.