Getting a card swipe machine for small business isn't easy. The terms and conditions of the banks is the proof

The lack of higher denomination notes in circulation has impacted business of several sectors, with the small merchants being affected the most. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 to curb black money has resulted in loss of sale for several traders dealing in perishable items.

As a matter of fact, there has been a record sale of Point-of-Sale terminal. The Finance Ministry is considering bringing in more incentives to promote digital transactions. For merchants accepting cards, the government has waived off charges till December 31.

However the trouble looms large for the small sellers like the vegetable, meat and fruit sellers. For them the reality is hard. There is huge supply, but lack of fluid cash in circulation has crashed the retail prices of perishables and thereby incurred them huge losses.

Asking them to get a POS terminal fixed is easy but getting approval and other formalities isn’t their cup of tea. Take for instance, Sambhu Nath, a vegetable retailer at Noida’s Sector 76 market who was earning Rs 300-500 every day earlier. Now even after spending 5 hours in chilling cold of December, he manages to make Rs 200-250. Most of his loyal customers are preferring app based groceries and department stores.

For vendors dealing in vegetables, fish, meat or even the low profile street food sellers who hawk every evening, life is hard. Because they don’t qualify to get a POS. To verify the facts we researched a bit and here’s the truth.

Here's the screenshot of ICICI Bank's Terms and Conditions for POS.

ICICI Bank’s website informs,


Applying for a Point-of-Sale Terminal
When applying for a point-of-sale terminal, you will need to provide several documents with your application. Your application cannot be assessed without all relevant documents and information. Please submit the following documents to ensure we are able to process your application for point-of-sale terminals quickly:

Business Details – please provide copies of any two of the following:

Shop & Establishment Registration Certificate (Current)
Sales Tax Registration Certificate
telephone/electricity bill (Current)
Partnership Agreement (Mandatory, if Partnership Firm)
Trade Licence (If petroleum products)
Rent/Lease Agreement
Col (Certificate of Incorporation)
VAT (Value Added Tax) Registration Certificate
It’s not over yet. After this you would require a lot of proofs to show your IT returns and allied stuff.

While ICICI Bank demands these details, Union Bank of India in its website mentioned that to procure a POS, having a landline is compulsory.

The POS terminals mostly cost Rs 6000-Rs 10000. So a vegetable seller needs to invest almost a half month’s income to get his business sorted.

While there are mobile-based POS in the market, but that would again mean the small traders burning some hard earned money in the times of demonetization, when the business is already doing bad.