This may be technology’s percolation at the grassroots level; a digital wallet may provide the last-mile connectivity between technology and domestic/outdoor service providers in the unorganised sector.
Twenty-five-year-old Chandan Kumar, an Ahmedabad-based laundryman using the Paytm digital wallet, no longer faces the problem of managing loose change as most of his customers pay him through the wallet.
His professional life changed about four months ago when a customer introduced him to the digital wallet — a cashless mode of payment that eliminates the need to carry low denomination cash — and, nobody now asks for credit. With ease of transactions and savings, he transfers money to his father’s account regularly.
Like Chandan, about 3 lakh people employed in the unorganised sector — a third of them being taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers — now avail Paytm’s digital wallet facility, launched eight months ago.
“This fiscal, we will expand operations, from 12 cities now, to 20 cities and increase our subscribers to 10 lakh,” Kumar Aditya, Vice-President, Paytm, who is leading the company’s offline business in the unorganised sector, told BusinessLine .
Ease of useHe said the digital wallet empowers users to save money and time, and encourage customers to ease the hassles of loose change or delays.
Many resident welfare associations help cab drivers and other domestic service providers to open a digital wallet account and educate them on the app.
Technology acceptance has helped them scale up their efficiency with some even reporting about a 16-20 per cent growth in business.
Shankarlal Sharma, a driver who owns three taxis in Jaipur, said he now saves an extra ₹1,000-1,500 per month on the Paytm wallet he acquired a couple of months ago, by way of cashbacks and other incentives.
Mumbai has more than 2 lakh auto drivers competing against cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber. Of these, around 8 per cent have smartphones. Paytm has enrolled around 10,000 auto ‘wallahs’ in Mumbai. Mohammed Khalid, who plies an auto rickshaw in Pune, even booked an air ticket from his Paytm account, receiving ₹400 as cash-back.
Published on July 15, 2016
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