During my just concluded trip to India, I observed a degree reticence and reluctance in merchants, while paying by cash using larger denominations of 500 or 1000 bill (called note in India with the conspicuous head of Mahatma Gandhi, who was ironically not in favor of consumerism). Don't know why, there is always a perennial shortage of changes with merchants, big or small.
Each green 500 and red 1000, is checked against fraud, by an impromptu visual check at the payment counter, inspected held vertically and horizontally in front of prying eyes. Due to all these, I made it a point to use my credit card wherever it was accepted. I always hated carrying a large amount of cash, especially in the crowded places, reputed to be infested with pickpockets, occasionally patting my pocket to make sure that my wallet is secured for good. Apart from being a secured mode of payement and convenience in carrying, I prefer to pay by plastic for the following reasons.
First, I can dispute my payment in case of any hanky panky, passing on the headache of settling it with the merchant to my credit card company.
Secondly, I have the grace period of 45-60 days to pay for my purchase. For the majority of my purchases I made in India, I don't have to pay until mid February. That is equivalent to borrowing money with 0% interest for almost couple of months.
Third, I get a 1.5% cash back on all my purchases plus 5% on certain categories. Every year that accumulates to a saving of around $500 in a year. Not bad for me, not bad for consumerism. No doubt Credit cards are suited to encourage consumerism in a nation which champions it.
But in many cases, from the expression on the faces of the merchants in India, especially in Odisha, I bet they weren't so ecstatic to see the plastic, even if the purchase amount is sizable. A week or so back, at the fag end of my trip, I purchased garments running into a few thousand rupees, from a store in Market Building, the Times Square of Bhubaneswar. As I handed over my credit card to the cashier, he gave me a look, a unique blend of losing a CHARENI (25 paisa coin) and chewing a bitter lemon. He queried - "SARE, CASH HABANI" (Sir, can't you pay by cash) ? "Sorry, I don't have cash, so please use my Mastercard" - I retorted back.
Reluctantly, he swiped my card. After a minute, he said "AGYAN, MESINI KAMA KARUNI - Card machine doesn't work". I told him to swipe again and leaned over for a closer look. Another guy, think his supervisor, snatched the card from his hand and chastised him, "KIRE MESINI CHALEI JANINU. MATE DE", Don't you know how to run the machine, lemme try". Now the MESINI (machine) worked miraculously and my card went through clean, like a hot knife through butter, resulting in the ejaculation of the receipt, coming out in a stuttering whir.
I have a feeling both of them were acting in unison, a la "Good Cop, Bad Cop". So why the fuss, NATAKBAJI (histrionics) ? My guess, One, it's typically merchant greed, who would love to hold on to that 1-3% cut at the most (transaction and settlement fee has come down a lot these days). Two, these transactions are recorded and accounted for. So, they can't do a Tax FANKI (avoidance), which could come back to haunt them later.
Online Railway reservation in India has cut down the role of touts and middle men and the accompanied corruption. Similarly, more use of credit cards down the road will lead to cleaner, accountable transactions, adding to national exchequer by substantially subtracting Tax fraud. It will take time, but more use of plastics is a step in the right direction.
Each green 500 and red 1000, is checked against fraud, by an impromptu visual check at the payment counter, inspected held vertically and horizontally in front of prying eyes. Due to all these, I made it a point to use my credit card wherever it was accepted. I always hated carrying a large amount of cash, especially in the crowded places, reputed to be infested with pickpockets, occasionally patting my pocket to make sure that my wallet is secured for good. Apart from being a secured mode of payement and convenience in carrying, I prefer to pay by plastic for the following reasons.
First, I can dispute my payment in case of any hanky panky, passing on the headache of settling it with the merchant to my credit card company.
Secondly, I have the grace period of 45-60 days to pay for my purchase. For the majority of my purchases I made in India, I don't have to pay until mid February. That is equivalent to borrowing money with 0% interest for almost couple of months.
Third, I get a 1.5% cash back on all my purchases plus 5% on certain categories. Every year that accumulates to a saving of around $500 in a year. Not bad for me, not bad for consumerism. No doubt Credit cards are suited to encourage consumerism in a nation which champions it.
But in many cases, from the expression on the faces of the merchants in India, especially in Odisha, I bet they weren't so ecstatic to see the plastic, even if the purchase amount is sizable. A week or so back, at the fag end of my trip, I purchased garments running into a few thousand rupees, from a store in Market Building, the Times Square of Bhubaneswar. As I handed over my credit card to the cashier, he gave me a look, a unique blend of losing a CHARENI (25 paisa coin) and chewing a bitter lemon. He queried - "SARE, CASH HABANI" (Sir, can't you pay by cash) ? "Sorry, I don't have cash, so please use my Mastercard" - I retorted back.
Reluctantly, he swiped my card. After a minute, he said "AGYAN, MESINI KAMA KARUNI - Card machine doesn't work". I told him to swipe again and leaned over for a closer look. Another guy, think his supervisor, snatched the card from his hand and chastised him, "KIRE MESINI CHALEI JANINU. MATE DE", Don't you know how to run the machine, lemme try". Now the MESINI (machine) worked miraculously and my card went through clean, like a hot knife through butter, resulting in the ejaculation of the receipt, coming out in a stuttering whir.
I have a feeling both of them were acting in unison, a la "Good Cop, Bad Cop". So why the fuss, NATAKBAJI (histrionics) ? My guess, One, it's typically merchant greed, who would love to hold on to that 1-3% cut at the most (transaction and settlement fee has come down a lot these days). Two, these transactions are recorded and accounted for. So, they can't do a Tax FANKI (avoidance), which could come back to haunt them later.
Online Railway reservation in India has cut down the role of touts and middle men and the accompanied corruption. Similarly, more use of credit cards down the road will lead to cleaner, accountable transactions, adding to national exchequer by substantially subtracting Tax fraud. It will take time, but more use of plastics is a step in the right direction.
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