Traders take cashless route

Abhijit Chatterjee, TT, Durgapur, Nov. 29: A dip in sales after demonetisation has prompted many small traders in south Bengal towns to apply to banks for point-of-sale machines so that they can offer customers the option of cashless payment.

Although installing PoS machines comes at a cost, the traders said they had no other option as they could not depend on cash sales any more.

Officials at two private banks that have branches in south Bengal districts such as Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan and Birbhum said there had been an increase in applications from small traders for PoS machines in the aftermath of demonetisation.

"From garment shop owners to people selling chicken and mutton, we have been receiving applications from a wide variety of traders," said a senior official who is looking after the marketing and installation of HDFC Bank's PoS machines in Durgapur.

"We have received 30 applications for PoS machines from small traders in less than a week.... Our marketing teams are working overtime to reach out to them," he said.

Different banks charge different rates for the machines. For example, HDFC Bank charges Rs 650 as monthly rental for a GPRS-based PoS machine and a percentage of the sales proceeds. The machine is provided free of cost.

"Over the past week, our marketing team has received 25 applications for wireless PoS machines from traders who have current accounts in our bank," said an official of Axis Bank in Durgapur.

Mohammad Tabrez Ahmed, a chicken wholesaler-cum-retailer in Durgapur town, said he was forced to apply for a machine as his retail business had taken a hit after demonetisation.

"I supply chicken to restaurants, retailers and caterers apart from my daily retail business. My wholesale business has not suffered because I accept payments in cheques. But the volume of my retail business has halved as people do not have enough cash in hand," he said.

Pinaki Talukdar, #a garment shop owner in Bankura town, said he decided to install a PoS machine after daily sales declined from around Rs 2,000 to less than Rs 500.

Traders' organisations in south Bengal are hoping customers in small towns will switch to cashless transactions soon.