Demonetisation has sent retail shops/ outlets/ merchants as well as local service providers, on a chase for point-of-sale (PoS) machines.

BusinessLine met with some shopowners to understand how they were dealing with the new situation.

Radhakrishnan operates a hair salon at a busy suburb of Thiruvananthapuram. He has set up three typical, high-mounted swivel chairs over 200 sq ft of air-conditioned floor area.

Besides himself, he has employed two others to attend to customers, most of whom are the ‘ATM/debit card-wielding type’. He charges ₹100 for a hair-cut and provides service to 50 customers a day. With low-denomination notes off circulation, business has dwindled fast.

Easier option “Most of them (customers) wave a new ₹2,000 note at me. What can I do? I entertain my regular customers for free since they can be trusted to pay later. But that cannot be tried with the new ones.”

While the the Prime Minister has set December 30 as the deadline for things to return to normal, Radhakrishnan cannot afford to stay out of business for so long.

So, he applied to State Bank of Travancore (SBT) for a card swipe machine. There is one hitch, though. He has been given an application form, which is in English/Hindi. He is seeking the help of a customer to fill it.

The same applies to small-time kirana shopowner Mohan. He has seen business reduce to less than half since November 8.

He too, is looking to apply for a swipe machine, which is ‘a good thing to have’ and could possibly raise his status and attract better customers.

He too would like to approach the SBT for making an application for a machine, though he is not familiar with its ‘feel and look’ yet.

Language barrier The language barrier makes him, too, flinch a little. A spokesperson for SBT agreed that the application is a ‘little tough’ and asks for a lot of things.

“Earlier, people from our branch, regional office and zonal office used to go to the shops and help owners fill in the application.

“Unfortunately, due to the rush at the counters, we’re just handing the form over to them.

“Had we known about this rush earlier, we would’ve made the application in Malayalam/vernacular.”

The filled-up forms are pushed to the vendor of the machine since he has to capture vital information before he installs the machine.

The applicant needs to furnish details, such as name, shop name, address and contact number, apart from present identity proof (Aadhar/PAN card).

Despite the load of work that needs to be put in to get the PoS machines installed at the premises of small businesses, the payment device has attained the status ofi a ‘must-have’ device.

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