Street vendors trained to take digital payments

Those without smartphones too can make use of system via SMS notifications

The Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation has begun digital onboarding of street vendors to equip them to accept digital payments using UPI QR codes. As many as 650 of the city’s street vendors have been provided training till now as part of this. Since around 50% of the street vendors do not use smartphones, they are being provided a system which enables accepting of digital payments in their accounts even with a regular phone, with SMS notifications.

According to an official of the National Urban Livelihoods Mission at the Corporation, loans have been provided under the Union Government’s scheme to more than 1,000 street vendors till now, with the city becoming the first local body in the State to achieve that number. Till now, loans of ₹10,000 have been provided to 1,000 street vendors and loans of ₹20,000 to 240 street vendors. The digital onboarding is now being rolled out for the street vendors who are beneficiaries of these loans, to improve their basic infrastructure.

“One of the issues we are facing is that many banks are rejecting the loan applications based on CIBIL scores. But Finance Ministry officials had made it clear that in this case CIBIL scores should not be considered. Till now, applications from 458 street vendors in the city have been rejected,” said an official.