A recent announcement by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directing Paytm Payments Bank to halt services by February end, has led local Kirana store owners to start using other payment apps for business.
A survey conducted by Kirana Club indicates that 69 per cent of respondents use the Paytm QR code for daily transactions in stores. It has only been a week since RBI announced the ban and it is surprising to note that 42 per cent of Indian Kirana stores have already started using other payment apps.
The survey revealed another stark finding about the trust among local retailers regarding Paytm. It indicates that trust in Paytm has decreased among 68 per cent of Indian kiranas after RBI restrictions.
While 42 per cent of kiranas have already started using other payment apps, another 20 per cent of respondents indicated their intent to use other payment apps soon. Of the retailers who have started to use or are planning to use other payment apps, a majority of 50 per cent of retailers chose PhonePe, 30 per cent are inclined towards Google Pay and 10 per cent towards BharatPe.
Kirana Club Founder & CEO Anshul Gupta said, “Covid-19 pandemic has led the neighbourhood kirana stores to increasingly adopt digital payments. Over time, they have also realized the convenience of accepting digital payments as they do not have to go through the hassle of giving change to customers and money gets transferred to their bank accounts immediately. While the ban imposed by the regulatory authority might lead to disruption at kirana stores, they are not much worried because there are alternate payment options available. Our recent survey also indicates that kiranas across states have already started using or plan to use other payment apps to ensure smooth business operations.”
The growth in cashless transactions at grocery and local Kirana stores is also indicated in the survey which shows that around 71 per cent of retailers in both, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand use Paytm QR codes to accept payments from customers.
A similar trend is seen among retailers in Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana with 70 per cent of kiranas using the payment mode for a business.
The number of retailers using Paytm QR codes is slightly low in Maharashtra (57 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (65 per cent) as compared to other states.
