Demonetisation gets 'acche din' for swipe-machine makers

NEW DELHI: The festive season has just begun for companies selling card swipe machines. As consumers across the country struggle to get hold of low-value currency , they are opting to pay through debit and credit cards for their daily needs, which has resulted in many small retailers placing orders for card swipe machines.

For instance, Pine Labs, one of the largest providers of EDC machines in India (electronic draft capture machine or card swipe machine), saw the demand for its products double, said its CEO Lokvir Kapoor. “There was a growth of 24% year-on-year,“ said Kapoor. “With the new ruling, we are anticipating a 60% growth this year, with card payments becoming a preferred mode of transaction.“

A day after PM Narendra Modi declared the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as invalid, debit card transactions across the country soared by 108% (Wednesday over Tuesday), while credit card spends went up by 60%, according to data from Pine Labs.

Card swipe machine providers are getting requests for EDCs from new categories of merchants such as college canteens, small time merchants and wholesellers among others. Even emerging cities including Sindhudurg, Beed, Tiruchirappalli and Bokaro, where cash transactions have been the norm till now, have cut into the queue.

However,the average ticket size of card transaction, which was Rs 2,504 on Tuesday fell by 35% to Rs 1,623 on Wednesday . “There is a huge surge in the number of people, who are swiping their cards for sums as low as Rs 100-200,“ said Kapoor.