NOW, DON’T GIVE CASH, JUST SCAN AND PAY 
01.04.2018

For 80-year-old pensioner Devaraj, standing in the serpentine queue at the bank to withdraw money for his family’s monthly expense has been a daunting task, every month.

Similar has been the case with Meera, an IT professional. She says, “I hate it when all I have in my wallet is a ₹2,000 note and everybody from the vegetable vendor to the grocery store guy refuses my purchase because I do not have change.”

Although many pay bills online, when it comes to day-today transactions, they are forced to use cash. However, Equitas Bank has recently launched Digi-Chengai — a project initiated to transform Chengalpattu towards a cashless economy by enabling digital payment solutions.

Elaborating on the initiative, Sanjeev Srivastava, President and Country Head, Equitas Small Finance Bank says, “There is no investment or any rentals involved in enabling Scan and Pay. Merchants can increase their revenue, not miss out any customer, and eliminate the problem of loose change, which is a major concern. We hope to lead the way in the digital banking space and promote financial inclusion of the underserved segment with this venture.”

The bank has conducted awareness programs for all shopkeepers and merchants in Chengalpattu and has provided customised QR stickers for about 500 merchant outlets, which would expand to cover over 2,000 merchant establishments of all sizes shortly. Any customer who shops can download the BHIM App developed by the Central Government and link their account and scan the QR code so that the exact money gets transferred. Customers can make such payment from any bank account that they have. The customer and merchant will get a confirmation message instantly.

VP Jeyaseelan, Sub-Collector of Kanchipuram, who announced the initiative, says, “A smartphone can now become your wallet where you can pay anyone and everyone — from a tender coconut seller to a supermarket, without physical cash. I appreciate the efforts of Equitas bank in promoting an alternative mode to cash to transform Chengalpattu town to a cashless economy.”

The bank also offers a variety of other digital services such as POS at merchants, QRbased acquiring, payment solutions, net and mobile banking, mobile top-ups and corporate net banking. 



(L-R) John Alex, Head, CSR Initiatives, Equitas; MB Nirmal, Trustee; VP Jeyaseelan, Sub-Collector; Dr CK Gariyali, Trustee and Sanjeev Srivastava, President and Country Head