If you are all set to visit the Party Capital of India, we have a great, wait, super great news for you!
2017, and you will see Goa as the first state to go cashless (starting Dec 31).
You would just have to dial *99# and follow instructions to buy perishables (vegetables, fish etc.). The best part that the phone doesn’t have to be a smartphone. You can easily make transactions using a basic phone as well; the money will be debited from your bank account.
This move will be beneficial for small vendors who aren’t tech-savvy and don’t have swiping machines. Usually, the money is either debited by swiping cards or by online payments, so this would definitely make the transaction process a lot more convenient.
However, the normal swiping transaction will continue to run in the state, and people would still be able to use cash. The idea is to encourage cashless transactions. Also, no fee would be imposed on such transactions.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar stated, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream that our country becomes cashless and we had decided that Goa will be the first state to go cashless”. Parrikar further added, “The mobile can now become the new bank”.
Parrikar further added, “The mobile can now become the new bank”.
Moreover, he held a meeting with the bankers of Goa and government officials for making the ‘cashless’ dream a reality.
According to Chief Secretary R. K. Srivastava, “Starting Monday, people will be educated about this and this would be finalised next week”. He further added, “Goa has an added advantage to be become the first cashless society because it is a small state with about 15 lakh population and 17 lakh mobile phone connections. We have 22 lakh bank accounts, which means that one person has more than one account. Most of the people in Goa use debit or credit cards while purchasing and hence it will not be a problem to go cashless.”
He also said, “From Monday, people will be educated on the cashless transaction and the exact plan would be finalised on Sunday. Every vendor who registers with the bank would be given an MMID code.”
Additionally, it will be a great thing for foreign tourists as they believe in cashless transactions.
How would it work?
Once a person purchases fish, vegetable etc. the customer just needs to dial the designated number (*99#) and punch in details of her/his account and the amount the customer needs to transfer to the vendor and then the customer has to enter the MI code of the vendor to transfer the funds. Within no time, the money would be transferred from the customer’s account to the vendor’s account.
“Everybody should have an account, card and the account should have money,” Srivastava said.
