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Comment by albert_e | Hacker News Reader

this is true for the affluent class.

smartphones are necessary to pay via UPI

smartphones--bank accounts--aadhaar card

in case of some low income workers, smartphones are not universal

in case of some migrant workers (including those that come from neighboring countries in search of jobs) .. aadhaar or bank account may not be immediately available

while digital payments are definitely becoming common cash is still accepted

in some cases autorikshaw drivers either avoided UPI (because something went wrong previously and their account went into negative balance ..so any payments they accept there will be swallowed by the app) ..or sometimes ask for cash as preferred mode because for them it is easier to spend immediately (sometimes even for sentimental reasons like first ride of the day)

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Not true. I live in India and have traveled to smaller villages in the south and some in the north. People have started to avoid cash altogether because of few reasons. They do have UPI they just don’t like it cause they like cash. There is never any issue with UPI, it’s just an excuse.

Cash creates a problem of giving change that end up dissatisfying the customer or the customer just leaves. Only after UPI people understood this so now they want you to buy it as payments are not a hassle. Rickshaws in cities have lost interest in random hires. I have waited 45 minutes for rickshaws. Everyone is on Uber or Ola cause they will show up and say cancel the request and give me little less money instead. Pretty common. So they don’t have the option to say no to UPI. They try to give you reasons why it’s not working but they just want cash for obvious reasons.

UPI also allows people to have multiple accounts in family to accept payments. This way they can avoid any tax payments as small amounts in small villages are not scrutinised by the income tax department.

UPI has created more and easier transactions. Small village or big town, I’ve never seen a shop without a QR code in the last year or so.

>> There is never any issue with UPI, it’s just an excuse.

When we talk in absolutes like this, it sounds like technology worship.

I am not out here to denounce UPI or to say it is fraught with issues. Acknowledging limitations, edge cases, or the reality of some of the citizens for whom UPi is not the solution goes a long way in ensuring inclusive tech.

I am in the Silicon Valley of India and the monthly salaries I pay to household help are in cash. I would so prefer to switch to digital myself if they had that option. We can't simply deny the reality they live in because we love the new tech or the people that promote it.

The suggestion is to assume that there are people who cannot use UPI and other shiny new tech, and make accommodations for them to lead their lives, rather than push for all digital and exclude some people.

In tier 2 and tier 3 cities almost everyone uses UPI. And every lower middleclass home has a smartphone. Low income workers such as security guards, factory workers, all have smartphones with a 4G plan.

Minor clarification: UPI works fine without an Aadhaar.

(I don't have an Aadhaar, and it works fine across multiple banks)

I am afraid that may not last long though?

Aren't all banks mandating Aadhaar based KYC and freezing accounts if there is no aadhaar? Atleast I know SBI did. And even PAN to Aadhaar linkage has also been made "mandatory"...even though the legality of the mandate is dubious, and there have been many deadline extensions.

Have bank accounts across 5 different banks and no freezes so far.

The PAN Aadhaar linkage has caused some investment issues for me.

>> smartphones are necessary to pay via UPI

No.

[1] UPI money transfer without Internet or smartphone; know how to do it - https://www.businesstoday.in/industry/banks/story/upi-money-...

This may be an option but seems rather convoluted -- needs a lot of phone menu navigation and inputs-- that practically very few if any must be using it. I for one never heard of it much less seen it in action.

There are areas without reliable mobile coverage... where people who need aadhaar authentication OTPs for their livelihood now, thanks to overzealous implementation of technology, are adversely impacted.

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