Cash crunch: Here’s how Infosys, Flipkart and others are helping their employees

Post demonetisation, India Inc. is doing everything it can to help its employees tide over the cash crunch as it has increased the note conversion desks, mobile ATMs and temporary cash withdrawal counters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to make the 86% currency invalid suddenly created a mess for common people. Banks were full of people, long queues at ATMs were witnessed etc. However, to help meet the cash needs of their employees, companies, including Infosys, Flipkart, MakeMyTrip, Yatra-.com, Mahindra & Mahindra, Godrej, EY, Vodafone, Ericsson India, Chaayos and Marico, have been proactive since November 8, more so as the end of the month approaches and the next salary cycle starts.

These companies have brought the bank facilities to the office premises and switch to cashless modes of transactions such as plastic currency and mobile or digital wallets. These apart, they have been generous with time off for staff.

Flipkart has tied up with a bank to set up desks at its offices where old notes can be swapped for new, in accordance with RBI guidelines. The facility has been used by more than 60% of the employees.

"This provision was also availed by office support staff as they would need it the most,” a Flipkart spokesperson, told ET.

Similarly, the Godrej Group has partnered with ICICI Bank to set up a currency exchange desk at its headquarters. Employees could now exchange old notes with official identity documents. ATMs on its premises were upgraded to dispense new currency notes.

"We host two ATM machines at our headquarters in Mumbai. They were recalibrated and replenished with the official currency on November 10, which has been very useful,” Sumit Mitra, head-group human resources and corporate services at Godrej, told ET.

Companies like Infosys and Chaayos are encouraging employees to go for smart cards and digital wallet whereas, MakeMyTrip is telling staff to bill their travel expenses, including tickets, to the company so that they don't incur any expenditure on their own.

"We have had sessions to educate the staff on mobile wallets so that they can use them more. Our entire inhouse cafe transactions have been moved to Paytm,” Ripudaman Gill, head of human resources at Chaayos, told ET.

Other companies like Vodafone are teaching their employees about its M-Pesa app-that enables cash withdrawal from select M-Pesa stores, apart from setting up cash withdrawal counters at its premises.
(image: IndiaTimes)