Kerala is set to board the cashless economy train, amid the brouhaha over demonetisation.
The Statewide network of 2,654 Akshaya citizen service centres has embarked on an intensive 15-day campaign to promote digital payment platforms among merchants and the general public.
Efforts are on to bring all the panchayats into the cashless economy during the campaign that began on December 15. Each Akshaya centre is required to reach out to the maximum number of merchants and citizens during the drive. The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has designated the Akshaya project as the nodal agency for the ‘Go Cashless’ campaign in Kerala.
Awareness sessions and live demonstrations are being organised in all panchayats, with the focus on enabling merchants and the public, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, to access and use the electronic payment system. “We have received encouraging response from the public,” says P.P. Jayakumar, Manager, e-Governance and Networking, Akshaya.
The campaign seeks to promote five digital payment platforms, namely debit/ credit/prepaid cards, USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data), Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS), UPI (Unified Payments Interface), and e-wallet.
100 awareness sessions
Malappuram district, which piloted the Akshaya and e-literacy projects, has taken an early lead in the Go Cashless campaign. As many as 100 awareness sessions were conducted in the first five days of the drive and 2,500 new merchants in the district have adopted various methods of digital payment.
“Malappuram is making an earnest bid to become the first cashless district in the country. If things go according to plan, it stands a chance of making it,” says Mr. Jayakumar.
Other districts such as Thrissur, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Pathanamthitta have also registered a good response to the Go Cashless campaign.
At the training sessions, participants are also given tips on enhancing security for online banking. Judging by the initial response, the e-wallet system is preferred to other systems of digital payment.
“Small merchants have overcome the initial hesitations about tax liabilities and realised the convenience and advantages of cashless transaction,” Mr. Jayakumar said. According to officials, tax compliance is likely to go up as more merchants and citizens switch over to digital platforms.
The transition is also expected to benefit Akshaya centres by bringing in more footfall.
