Modi’s crackdown on black money gets the thumbs up from digital players

Even as the country is grappling with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise move to curb black money and fake currency, there is all round praise for what is being termed as a “surgical strike” on corruption. The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 has seen people rush to banks to exchange or deposit their money.

 Meanwhile, given the new currency situation, e-commerce players have stopped the Cash on Delivery option. Keeping this in mind, Snapdeal today has announced the launch of its new feature, Wallet on Delivery (WoD), which will allow users to pay on delivery by using their FreeCharge wallet. This feature allows users to make the payment only when their package is delivered and simultaneously removes the need to handle cash and find the exact change to pay for the delivery.

 The launch of Wallet on Delivery (WoD) is a quick and effective solution to all user concerns about Cash on Delivery (CoD), especially given the current uncertainty about availability of currency notes.

 Kunal Bahl, CEO & Co-founder of Snapdeal, commented, “The launch of this new feature by FreeCharge shortly after the announcement of the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes demonstrates our speed of execution in ensuring consumers’ needs are met in real time. We are delighted to continue our contribution to the Prime Minister’s vision to build a cashless society.”

 Modi’s move has been widely appreciated by the digital players, Adgully brings to you some of their responses...

 Madhur Deora, CFO, Paytm:

“This is the biggest and most ambitious step ever to crack down on black money and fake currency. We stand by the Government in its efforts towards taking black money out of the equation and offering a major boost to the Indian economy. Since Paytm is fast becoming synonymous to all kinds of payments, we are happy to announce we have registered a strong surge in volume on our platform.”

 Meanwhile, the Paytm platform saw an overwhelming 435 per cent increase in overall traffic as millions of consumers across India have taken to using their Paytm Wallets to transact offline. Within hours of the Prime Minister’s announcement, the company registered a 200 per cent hike in number of app downloads and 250 per cent surge in number of overall transactions and transaction value. The number of Saved Cards also grew by 30 per cent, pointing at a strong set of repeat customers the platform has now acquired. The company has noted 1000 per cent growth in money added to the wallet and 400 per cent growth in transaction value of offline payments.

 Dipak Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank:

“This is a path-breaking move by the Prime Minister to eradicate black money from the economy and mitigate the counterfeit money problem, both of which will do good to the Indian economy over time. Customers need not worry about their money at all, they have sufficient time to exchange their old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes. While they may face some inconvenience for the next few days, their money in the bank remains absolutely safe. We are working to ensure minimal inconvenience to customers until money supply gets fully normalised. This move will usher in a cultural change in payments as people will adopt digital banking faster. We should also see a surge in activation of new bank account and debit and credit cards usage.”

 Ritesh Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, OYO:

“We have been firm supporters of Startup India & Digital India programmes. The PM declaring surgical strike on counterfeit notes is no doubt a historic development. We welcome this move as it will deliver long-term benefits to the economy, with of course some inconvenience in the short term. As India’s first and largest tech enabled hotel brand, OYO believes this move will also provide a huge push towards cashless economy. This development will result in lower real-estate pricing leading to more affordable hotels and rapid adoption of transparent practices.”

Manu Agarwal, CEO & Founder, Naaptol:

“I would like to congratulate our PM Narendra Modi for the bold step to curb inflow of black money. As an immediate and short-term effect there will be a shortage and scarcity of the said denomination of currency, this is bound to affect the COD (cash on delivery) mode of payment of e-commerce companies. On the contrary, the move is set to have a positive impact on the country’s economy in the longer run. The move will also trigger increased use of digital payment modes which would help in achieving the goal of Digital India.”

 Rohit Khetrapal, Co-Founder FindMyStay:

“As the country has gone cashless for the next two days with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to remove Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, it will shift the offline bookings in travel domain to online bookings, but leisure travel will be slow over few days because of cash not available in the market that people need for food, Transport, etc. For example, Goa doesn’t have Ola, Uber and travelling is a challenge in a sense of cash. Although, this is a revolutionary step to curb corruption.”

 Mayank Bhangadia, Co-founder and CEO Roposo:

“This step taken by Narendra Modi is path-breaking and revolutionary, as it sets a great example on how to bring change boldly and effectively. We as a nation have to fight corruption and what a way to begin! This bold move is just another instance of the Modi Government’s vision of corruption free India.”

 

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