BENGALURU: In the city, when you flag down an auto, you don't need to worry about carrying change. An increasing number of auto drivers in the city are now using cashless wallets and commuters are understandably a happy lot.
Abdul Razzak, an auto driver who operates in and around Koramangala, said: “I have been using Paytm for more than a year. It’s really good to have this facility when a commuter doesn’t have cash or exact change to pay the fare. I am also using Paytm to recharge my phone and DTH and to book movie tickets” he said.
Commuters are happy too. Anivar Aravind, a regular commuter says, “I have been seeing many auto drivers accepting payment through Paytm for the past one week. Not only they receive money through the app but also transfer the balance to our Paytm wallet if we pay by cash”.
While autorickshaw aggregator Jugnoo is using digital wallets like Paytm and MobiKwik to enable customers to do cashless payments, Ola autos accept payment through its ‘Ola money’.
Jaininder Kaur, a spokesperson of Jugnoo, said more than 200 of their autorickshaw drivers in the city are now using digital wallets like Paytm and MobiKwik. “All that customers have to do is recharge their wallets and then easily pay for their rides through e-cash. About 40 per cent of payments are happening through digital wallets and the number is increasing every week, which clearly indicates the positive feedback from both customers and drivers,” he said.
Sonia Dhawan, DGM (marketing), Paytm, said several auto drivers who are using cashless wallets in the city are convincing other drivers. “Accepting payment through Paytm saves them from hassles, cost and risks of handling cash,” she said.
Mrinal Sinha, COO, MobiKwik said: “We have a tie-up only with Jugnoo as of now and are looking at expanding our presence among auto rickshaws in the city over this year. Users can pay directly through their Jugnoo application using MobiKwik wallet”.
“We are beginning to receive an encouraging response within a short time of launching with Jugnoo. We hope to do a majority of over 40,000 transactions daily on Jugnoo platform by the end of this year,” he informs.
“Autodrivers across the country are now able to accept payments from their customers and save it securely in their digital wallets. They can use this money to pay for fuel or do online recharges or bill payments while on the go,” says Dhawan.
Kaur added, “At Jugnoo, we transfer the money from digital wallets to bank accounts of our drivers twice a week. Drivers also feel that it enables them to manage their money more efficiently.”