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Comment by deepGem | Hacker News Reader

Perhaps, but on the bright side, I see an increase in digital transactions, particularly wallets. Almost every nook and corner shop in India now accepts payment by Paytm or an equivalent wallet. It'll be interesting to see the uptick in digital payments since the crackdown on cash.

I don't necessarily think wallets are a better way to pay but they are a hell lot convenient than carrying petty cash and having to hit the ATM every now and then.

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Yeah, that makes it all worth it. The endless queues, the needless suffering, the lost productivity all made up for by the fact that the urban middle class now has the convenience of e-wallets!

Not to mention, the 100+ deaths directly attributed to demonetization.

Do you feel govt intervention was needed at such massive scale, causing widespread inconvenience to the people that didn't ask for it, so that everyone could move to digital wallets? Or is it that convince of digital wallets is simply not that great that people would have moved to it anyway?

I absolutely detest government intervention in any aspect of the society. In fact, I suffered personally like a billion others because of this crap that the government unleashed on us. I am just seeing the brighter side of things.

I can't comment on the convenience of digital wallets for all sections of the society. For the urban middle class I can say with conviction, that digital wallets trump cash. The biggest obstacle for digital wallet adoption were the mom and pop shops. Now even a juice vendor accepts PayTM. I don't think the wallets are as harsh as the credit card guys on the merchants. So I see the adoption as a win-win, at least for the urban middle class.

All of this doesn't negate the endless suffering ulneashed by the cash crackdown though.

This is the half narrative that needs to be made completed for us Indians to have an actual discussion.

How about this scenario - the govt one days makes every Indian pay a fine for holding cash, instead of using one of the many private e-cash wallets out there.

This would be a massive state subsidy given to digital players- but would it be fair or correct workings of the market economy?

Instead if the market was left to itsel the wallets would have invested in ways to convince people and improve services, all the while paying taxes and adding to govt coffers.

One model is wealth creation and the other is regulatory waste paid by us at astronomical costs (1% gdp growth for better metro city use of e wallets??)

No one who talks about this seems to mention the opportunity cost and massive wastage for effectively a one off payment to advertise private entities.

> To some degree, the banking sector did benefit. In the wake of demonetization, millions of Indians opened their first bank accounts.

> But not all of that is attributable to Mr. Modi’s efforts.

I think you give him too much credit in saying that.

Yeah, bankrolled by PayTM which has been proven to spread propoganda for the ruling BJP government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvj8hRD1GY4

From last two-three months, all small time shops in my city are charging extra if paid via PayTM, citing that they get charged when they take money out of PayTM to Bank. Because their wholesale supplier wants bank transfers.

Great! Try telling this to the families of one of the people who had the good fortune of sacrificing their lives for the motherland. /s

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