This report on CSES study was published in Deccan Chronicle on 09/01/2017
A survey conducted by the city-based Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies (CSES) in selected panchayats in the Ernakulam district shows 91 percent of the people has not done any cashless transaction in their lifetime and only 1.6 percent has started using the cashless facility after demonetization.
The survey has been conducted among different age, gender and income groups. The agency has selected Ernakulam as it is the state’s first district to achieve total financial inclusion.
They say only three percent of people in the below poverty line (BPL) category have ever used the cashless facility whereas it is 13 percent among the rest. Usage of cashless facility decreases with increase in age.
“Though the survey has been conducted in Pallipuram, Maneedu and Asamannoor panchayats, we have included a cross-section of people from all sectors of the society including farmers, entrepreneurs, daily labourers, government and private employees, self-employed, unemployed and students,” said Bibin Thambi, a researcher at CSES.
Very few casual workers and homemakers who form the majority of the sample ever made any cashless transactions. Only 2 percent of the daily labourers have made cashless transactions at least once while 30 percent of them never used the facility.
Only 2.5 percent of respondents who are 60 years and above have ever used the service, while 22 percent of youngsters have used it at least once.
Educational status is a major determinant of adopting cashless transactions. The respondents with less than secondary education never used the cashless facility.
Only 10 percent of the respondents reported that the shops they regularly visit have Point of Sale (PoS) facility. Maximum cashless transactions were done for online shopping (5.2%) followed by buying provisions (4.2%). Textiles (4%), cash transfer (3%), payment of utility bill (2.4%) and buying diesel/ petrol (2%) are the other major purposes for which they utilised cashless transactions.