DELHI Updated: Dec 14, 2016 13:58 Ist
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Hindustan Times
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Petrol stations became the most sought after place as the government allowed banned currency here till December 2.(Arun Sharma/HT FILE)
The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes caused losses to businesses ranging from a grocery store dealing in few thousands rupees to a car company with turnover in crores. However, for some establishments the cash crunch had resulted in increased customers and profits.
Departmental stores
Several departmental stores in Delhi said that their business had increased after demonetization as the customers wanted to pay through credit or debit cards - a facility that the neighbourhood kirana stores did not have. A shopkeeper at Gourmet Fresco in Defence Colony market said, “We now get several customers from the neighbouring Kotla area also as most of the shops there do not have swipe card facilities.” The shopkeeper at Radha Krishna Store, a departmental store in Central Delhi’s Bengali Market said the only thing that has changed after demonetization is that while 80% of payments were earlier in cash, the equation has now reversed. The owner of a departmental store in Khan Market said that they now get customers even from areas like Safdarjung and Lajpat Nagar. “For us it is a win-win situation as we are earning more than we did earlier,” he said. Similarly, the owner of Soni Super Market in New Ashok Nagar said that since there are very few stores that have card facilities in the area, his shop’s sales haver gone up three times.
Aadhaar Enrolment Centres
Aadhaar Cards are made by Enrolment Centres under the guidance and rules laid by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Most enrolment centres in Delhi said that the demand has doubled since the demonetization was announced. Ashish Vijay, a resident of Sarita Vihar, who runs one such enrolment centre said, “I recently had a camp in Saket where more than 250 people participated. Earlier, such camps saw not more than 150 people. Jitender, a resident of Mandawli, who runs an enrolment centre said, “Earlier, we had to request people for space to set up a camp but now the RWAs are calling us to set up counters.” This is primarily because people think that it will soon be mandatory for people to link with bank accounts with Aadhaar, he added.
Point of Sale (POS) or swipe machines
Most banks said that there has been an overwhelming demand for POS machines. A POS machine, loosely referred as a swipe machine, is used to make card payments and is installed in shops by private vendors in partnership with banks. Banks make an estimate of the sales and set the limit to which cash could be swiped. Banks also monitor the transactions. A banker with the Indian Bank in East Delhi said that since demonetisation he had received requests from 20 businessmen for the machines — far more that the requests received over six months. A State Bank of India official said that earlier the bank had to request businessmen to take swipe machines but now traders make repeated calls for the machine as the bank is struggling to meet the surge in demand.
Safal and Mother Dairy outlets
The government’s rule that old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes could be used at Mother Dairy and Safal stores increase the footfall at these shops. A Safal outlet owner in Defence Colony said that sales reached up to ₹2.5 lakh on some days after demonetization. “We sold goods for around ₹30,000 on an average but for at least five days after demonetization was announced, the sales touched more than one lakh figure. Several goods were over and more than 50 people were in queue on some days.” Another Safal shop owner in Mayur Vihar said his sales had increased more than thrice and people who never came to his shop were now visiting.
Petrol stations
Petrol stations became the most sought after place as the government allowed banned currency here till December 2. A petrol station owner in Safdarjung said that for a week after December 8 — the day when demonetization was announced — the sales were at least three times more but people mostly paid in old currency. Another owner in Mayur Vihar said that though the station earned more than twice for a week after demonetization the business had seen a decline since December 2.
