KOCHI: While Kerala is still reeling in the aftermath of demonetisation, plastic money is definitely on the rise. While the apprehensions remain, many are willing to learn about altenate payment
methods. And help is just around the corner, in Kazhakootam. A group of youngsters are actively campaigning for awareness about digital wallets.
‘Hello Kazhakootam’ is the digital market initiative of the startup, ‘Waggle Labs’, run by four students. Their motive? To educate people about e-wallets like Paytm and UPI (United Payment Interface).
And why? “We felt it was our duty, as students of engineering, to create an awareness among the people during such difficult times.
They have a lot of questions that needed answers. Most of the content available is only in English, so we are trying to create content in Malayalam and make it accessible for everyone,” said Prem, the Founder of ‘Wagglelabs’.
An inter-university initiative, the other members are Jefin Jo Thomas, cofounder and digital marketing specialist, Amal G S, creative head, and Noufal Salim, data analytics and machine learning expert.
Their Facebook page, ‘Hello Kazhakootam’, has the status message, ‘pinned’ with ‘#Gocashless’, for over a week now. It has been catching the attention of netizens. And they do it free of cost.
“Being close to Technopark, it’s easy for us to get to the students. We have contacted colleges for conducting seminars. Almost fifty per cent of the students already know how to go about this. Our next target group is the retail sellers,” says Prem.
In fact, most retailers don’t even have a swiping machine. “We are approaching them for installing the digital wallets, as well. The bigger shops are well-acquainted with UPI. A common appeal among the youngsters today is to make smaller shops digitally accessible. They want the provision to pay even Rs 60 via e-wallets,” says Prem.
A call out to Kochi
While these enthusiastic youngsters are getting calls aplenty, they are limited geographically, to extend their help. “We have spoken to Aashin Thampy, of 7 pm Status, a community that addresses social issues, and formed predominantly by students. They will be taking up this initiative in Kochi,” said Prem.
7 pm Status was formed by Aashin in 2013 while he was a B.Tech student. Their first initiative to tackle the demonetisation woes was suggested by Jyothish Thaliath, an employee of the Kozhikode Union Bank. It was a call of alert (#liveatmalert), when no cash was available at ATMs in your locality.
“Taking a cue from ‘Hello Kazhakootam’, we are ready to help those who want to know how to use digital wallets, like Paytm and UPI. The hashtag we are using is #Change2Digital, an initiative by Hello Kazhakootam, powered By Waggle Labs in collaboration with 7pm status and Teezonic,” says Aashin.
Obstacles on the way
The common concerns of people are related to security. They are also unsure about whether these transactions would be charged by the banks. “While we can walk them through the procedures, one misstep from their part would make them point fingers at us, so we are being very cautious,” said Aashin. “Also, people commonly mistake our initiative as being funded by organisations like Paytm. They ask us whether we are employed by them.”
However, Kochi is fairly ahead when it comes to going cashless. “Even kiosks in Kakkanad are digitally empowered now,” adds Aashin.
Lurking danger
There’s another side to swiping your credit/debit card to make payments. “At certain places, in Kochi, they give out swiping machines for rent. One cannot be sure of these machines. This is another reason that bolsters the need to use digital wallets,” Aashin says. “While the intent of demonetisation is noble, the execution could have been bettered. But now, instead of complaining, let’s find solutions. After all, the Prime Minister did ask youngsters to step up and offer help.”