Payments With Rs 2,000 Notes Rises At Petrol Pumps And Markets After RBI's Withdrawal Order

After the RBI announced its decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes, there has been a massive rise in payments with this denomination by customers at petrol pumps and markets.

After the Reserve Bank of India announced its decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 currency notes, there has been a massive rise in payments with this denomination by customers at petrol pumps and markets. Days after the RBI's announcement of withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes, there has been a five-fold rise in payments with this denomination for fuel purchase by customers at petrol pumps in Indore, an office-bearer of a petrol pumps association claimed on Monday, as reported by the news agency PTI. 

Some of the customers have been paying in Rs 2,000 notes while buying fuel worth only Rs 100 for their two-wheelers, he said. The RBI on Friday made a surprise announcement of withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes, but gave the public time till September 30 to either deposit the Rs 2,000 notes in accounts or exchange them at banks. The RBI said it had asked banks to stop issuing Rs 2,000 notes with immediate effect.

Talking to PTI, Indore Petrol-Pump Dealers Association president Rajendra Singh Vasu said, "Payments in Rs 2,000 currency notes by customers for fuel purchase at petrol pumps has increased by at least five times. But, it is not a matter of concern for us as these notes can be easily exchanged in banks.” He said there have been some customers paying in Rs 2,000 currency notes for fuel worth only Rs 100 for their two-wheelers.

"Since most of the customers make payments online these days, the availability of lower denomination currency notes at petrol pumps is not a major problem," Vasu said, as quoted by PTI. There are 275 petrol pumps in Indore district of Madhya Pradesh, he informed.

People Rushing To Spend Rs 2,000 Notes In Delhi's Markets After RBI's Decision   

After RBI's decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation most markets in the national capital are witnessing a rise in the number of people who are trying to spend the currency. "I am the sole bread winner of my family and the only person who is literate. Going to the bank and standing in a queue would mean I will have to close my shop for the day. So, I tried to spend the cash at the wholesale market. However, most shopkeepers either refused to accept the notes or claimed not to have change," Kailash, who runs a cloth shop at Delhi's Janpath told Times Of India.

Kailash also told that the announcement came as a shock. He also said that he got rid of as many currency notes as possible by purchasing supplies. Shalini Mehta, a shopper said that she was very shocked that no one was accepting Rs 2,000 notes as she was not aware about RBI's decision. "Most shopkeepers have been asking for digital payment or exact cash, giving the excuse that there is a shortage of change," she told Times Of India.

"People have been making a beeline to get rid of Rs 2,000 notes in the last two days. There is panic, especially among the retailers, which is why they are not accepting the currency or giving change. The bigger businesses are not that wary of accepting the currency," TOI quoted Vimal Jain, president of shopkeepers' union as saying.

Along with the markets, even the petrol pumps in the city are witnessing the same rush. "Instead of making digital or card payment, which is the usual preferred mode of payment, people are now handing over Rs 2,000 notes. Essentially, they are using petrol pumps as banks," Anurag Narayanan, an owner of one such facility in central Delhi told Times Of India.