No Long Queues! Karnataka Becomes India's First State To Launch Digital Payment System In Post Offices

In another step towards digital India, the Karnataka Postal Circle has started Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Quick Response (QR) code-based digital payment system across all the sub-post offices in the state. Karnataka has become the first postal circle country to launch the QR payment system.

S Rajendra Kumar, Postmaster General, said, "A week ago, we had launched the facility in all the Head Post Offices (HOs) in the state. On Saturday (April 23), we inaugurated the QR payment in all the 1655 sub-offices (in cities and towns) in Karnataka, becoming the first to achieve complete coverage in all departmental post offices," reported The New Indian Express.

Facilities To Customers

The development will help visitors to the head post offices who used to wait for long hours to finish their transactions. The Department of Posts achieved this landmark on Sunday, April 23.

The customers have been allowed to make payment of booking charges for various services, including speed post, registered post and parcel, through digital transactions along with the cash, since April 16.

Henceforth, they can now use any mobile wallet to scan the QR code at the booking counters and finish their transactions. Now, other postal schemes such as postal life insurance and deposits towards post office savings banks are also accepting digital payments.

Implementation

In the first phase, the digital payment service would be provided at 94 head post offices across Karnataka, and so far, nearly 200 digital transactions have been done on a trial basis. The state has 7923 branch post-offices which are spread across rural areas and yet to receive the facility. A total of 800 head offices across the country simultaneously launched digital payment services on April 16.

The public members welcomed the initiative, saying that the digital payment option must be extended to sub-post offices and branch offices, at least in urban and peri-urban areas.

T. Sadagopan, president of Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre, said that the initiative would save customers from lots of trouble they usually face during over the counter cash transactions. He said, "Customers would know about the exact amount of cash payment only after weighing parcels. Some of them find it difficult as many post offices do not have ATMs on their premises," quoted The Hindu.

Response

According to officials, the facility is part of the effort to provide customer-friendly services. They are under consideration to expand the facility to sub-post offices and branch offices.

As far as people's response is concerned, they are still visiting the post offices with cash on hand as many are still unknown to it and would require some time for people to get accustomed to the change.

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