Many petrol pumps in Bengaluru yet to go cashless

It will be another month before you could easily use digital payment methods at petrol pumps in Bengaluru. At least half of the filling stations in the city are yet to procure the point of sale (card swipe) machines or use e-wallets. The Centre’s decision to stop the use of scrapped notes at petrol pumps from December 3 onwards is affecting business at filling stations. As the cash crunch continues, many petrol stations do not have enough notes in low denominations. They are putting up ‘no stock’ notices just because they cannot give change for Rs 2,000 notes.

Raghuveer, a resident of Malleswaram, recounted the inconvenience at a filling station. “I was asked to refuel for at least Rs 500 or get more vehicles to fill up. The staff at the filling station said they couldn’t give me change as I refuelled for Rs 200 and gave them a 2,000-rupee note. They are short of Rs 100 notes.”

Another resident, John B, said the fuel station on Sarjapur Road refused to give change or accept card payment.  “I needed the change to buy vegetables and groceries. I was forced to give Rs 100 notes for refuelling,” she said. Just half of the 500 petrol stations in Bengaluru have PoS machines while just a handful have Paytm or e-wallet payment options.

Bhushan Narang, chairman of Petroleum Dealers’ Association, however, hoped that all petrol pumps in the city would have PoS machines and e-wallet facilities by the end of December.

“Presently, only some of them have the machines and e-wallet facilities. Each petrol station needs at least four to five PoS machines,” he said. He acknowledged that filling stations were grappling with shortage of low-denomination notes and said banks were also helpless. “I am hopeful that by the end of this month, everything will be sorted out,” he added.

A senior official in the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said that just 723 out of their 1,770 fuel stations in Karnataka had digital payment options. Bengaluru has 189 such petrol stations.

“We are in talks with banks to help fuel stations on a priority basis as there is a pressing need for this essential service. There are 600 applications pending with us for installing PoS machines and introducing e- wallet facilities,” he said.

The facility of cash withdrawal at fuel stations has not picked up pace either. The IOC official said they were focusing on providing the facility at 100 petrol stations in rural Karnataka with the help of State Bank of India. In case of Bengaluru, the IOC is in talks with a private bank.