The Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants Bharat to become a cashless society. Where every fisher woman and vegetable vendor and the Goan pau man on his bicycle will have a bank account. When fisher women will not keep their money Choli ke peeche. Where everyone will have a Jan Dhan account where people with black money can park their kala dhan. Where everyone will accept and receive payments through their mobiles.
I have painfully found out it does not work even for educated people, for the khas aadmi, let alone the bai and the driver. I have a masters degree in economics. I have
been a senior journalist for forty years. I have an ATM and debit card. I even have a visa credit card. I am seventy years old. Often my fingers tremble a bit. When I tried to use my credit card at nanutel hotel in Madgaon my fingers were shaking a bit.
Do you know that if u enter the secret pin incorrectly three times, your card gets automatically blocked. That is what happened to me. I punched my pin thrice wrongly and from Nov 19 my card has been blocked when I need it most. The bank branch that issues the card cannot help you if it is blocked. You have to email the credit card division. Which may have outsourced customer care to a call centre. I contacted helpline no. I was told I would get a new pin in ten days. So for ten days I could not be cashless despite prime minister Modi appeals. The worst was yet to come.
I received my new secret pin by blue dart courier at four pm on last Friday. The carrier did not ask for ID proof. He did not take my signature that I had recd card. He did not note time of giving card. He could have given it to anybody or kept it himself and stolen my money. Fortunately the carrier did not steel it. The cyber thieves did. I received my new pin at four pm on Friday.but much earlier at 15.03 or three pm I got a message that my card which had been blocked had been used for a transaction on Facebook for Rupees six thousand plus (RS6000+). Which was a case of cyber fraud as I could not have done the transaction at three pm (3PM) as I got my pin only at four pm. The corporation branch manager has been gracious enough to admit it. The transaction has been blocked. So I cannot use my credit card again.
My tonca corporation branch manager has been kind enough to give me an instant ATM card. Except there is no money in the ATM for no fault of Mr Jha. Yes if u are literate and have a bank account and your fingers don’t shake and u have a smart phone and computer with internet u can be cashless..but your money is not safe. If prime minister MODI’S account can be hacked and that of Rahul Gandhi how safe is your money. Ask goan cyber security expert and ethical hacker, it takes only thirty seconds to hack ATM, Paytm accounts. Stick to your cash…
Goan Observer- Rajan Narayan