Traders unhappy over imposition of charge on swipe machine

FROM A CORRESPONDENT

AGARTALA, Jan 9: Prime Minister rendra Modi’s dream of making the economy cashless or at least less cash has suffered a setback as the traders and business community has reacted

adversely over imposition of charges for using Point of Sale machines.

It is learnt that the traders and business community shown interest to procure POS machines immediately after the banning of Rs 500 and 1000 notes to meet the crisis. They also were influenced by the Prime Ministers campaign in favour of it.

But the enthusiasm got dampened immediately after it was announced that the users will have to pay service charge for using the POS popularly known as swipe machine.  The petroleum dealers reacted sharply against the decision and decided not to accept payments through swap machines across the country. The local business community also adversely reacted to the decision and said many of them who have earlier taken initiative to procure swipe machine has abandoned the plan.

Anirban Debth, a cloth merchant of Agartala, said we were using the machine for last few days but after hearing the government decision we have kept the machine below the front desk so that the customers could not see it.

An ardent supporter of the Prime Minister’s decision of banning notes and dream of a cashless society Anirban said the government must reconsider the decision.