When someone knocks on your door with a hand-held billing machine early in the morning, it might take some time for you to realise that he is the newspaper delivery boy.
As he hands over the bill, he takes out a Point of Sale (PoS) machine asking whether you would like to pay by card.
He also gives you an option of online payment offering a discount of ₹10.
To enjoy these services, you have to be a resident of Chikkamagaluru town and a customer of Akshay Kumar Honakeri.
Mr. Honakeri, 27, has been distributing newspapers since he was 14 and has graduated from a newspaper boy to the main agent for several publications, vernacular as well as English.
A resident of Vijayapura Extension in the town, he now distributes nearly 3,000 copies of different publications hiring about 20 boys. “I started collecting bills through netbanking and PayTM much before demonetisation. However, the process picked up after demonetisation following which I bought two PoS machines,” Mr. Honakeri told The Hindu .
After PayTM started charging for transferring funds to a bank account, he is now concentrating on online transfers and PoS collections.
Mr. Honakeri is also in the process of commissioning billing software wherein bills are periodically generated at regular intervals.
He has allotted identification numbers to customers through which bills are already being generated by hand-held machines at customers’ premises.
It also includes SMS acknowledgment of payments too, he added.
Elder of two sons of a cobbler, reaching his present position was not an easy path. “My father did not want me to pursue his profession and put me into school. While studying, I earned some income distributing newspapers and completed a diploma in electronics and communication,” Mr. Akshay said.
He wanted to pursue engineering but had to choose between that and business. He chose the latter. “I have no regrets as my life as well as my younger brother’s is settled. The earnings are good and I’m able to provide job for more people,” he added.
