Tuesday, July 4, 2017

E-wallets get mixed reaction in India

Intro:

 

A campaign launched by the Indian government is still underway to cut cash transactions and push digital payments instead.

 

Last year Prime Minister Narenda Modi forced most Indians to move to e-wallets after scrapping the highest denomination notes in an effort to crack down on corruption.

 

But can someone today actually get around for a full day without using cash in India?

 

Our correspondent in New Delhi Neha Poonia finds out.

 

In: 'Hard cash makes...'
Out: SOC
Dur: 3:18


SCRIPT: 

VO1: 

Hard cash makes the world go round- but in India can these crisp notes ever become obsolete?

NAT OF PM MODI ANNOUNCING THE NOTE BAN 

"500 and 1000 rupee currency notes in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight tonight, that is November 8, 2016"

VO 2: 

Eight months since India scrapped its highest denomination notes, many Indians are slowly beginning to cash in on technology. In a market in New Delhi- almost all businesses--like Dinesh Doval's pharmacy--now accept mobile payments.

SOT: Dinesh Doval, Pharmacist

"My telephone bills, my electricity bill, I pay them all digitally. I don't have to go to the bank- don't have to stand in queues- just sitting here- through a click of a button I pay all my bills."

VO 3: 
What began as a means to get by during demonetization- has now become a way of life for Mr Doval.

SOT: Dinesh Doval, Pharmacist


"I don't mind leaving my wallet at home but my phone has to be with me all the time"

 

VO 4: 

But not all of India has made this switch. You need to look no further than Dinesh Doval's assistant- Dinesh Dhayani. They are united by a common name but divided by technology. His occupation has forced him to get tech savy and accept payments through digital wallets- but personally he doesn't think e-wallets are a cash cow

SOT: Dinesh Dhyani

"Digital wallets is a new concept- it's too soon to rely on it. I am scared to use it. What if I put money into my e-wallet and someone hacks into my account?"

VO 5: 

Mr Dhyani says even if he wanted to pay digitally- in many places there is no option to do so. 


Bite: Dinesh Dhyani 
"Fruit sellers, local ration shop owners, to fix a puncture on my bike- I still need to pay by cash. They don't have any facility to pay digitally."


VO 6: 
India is home to the world's second largest smartphone market with over 300 million internet users. But with a population of over a billion there's still a huge number of people who can't use e-wallets.


Murtaza Ansari sells books in a roadside makeshift stall. 

"To be able to make mobile payments I will have to spend $150 to buy a smartphone. I don't earn that much." 


Tapa Biswas drives a cycle rickshaw around Delhi.

"Digital payments are not for everyone. If I could use my phone to make payments, why would I be a rickshaw puller?"


VO 7: 

The Indian government has been aggressively pushing a digital revolution. It's own digital payment app comes in 12 regional languages and according to the government 125 million people are using it. Though India's most popular e-wallet vendor- PayTM thinks a transition to only mobile payments is still many years awayDeepak Abbott, PayTM's Vice President claims India is warming up to e-wallets but slowly.

SOT: Deepak Abbot, Vice President, PayTM

"I think cash will continue to exist. I don't see India becoming hundred percent cashless but yes the percentage towards digital cash will go much higher."


VO8: 

So for now, cash still talks in India. 




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