Chandrika’s Story

Chandrika is a 18 year old nursing student from a village near Arraku. She studies in Vizag and lives in a hostel but has come home as her father is unwell.

At home, Chandrika spends her time doing household chores. In her free time she uses her brother's phone to watch YouTube, use Instagram, chat on WhatsApp, and play Temple Run or Ludo. Although she has never owned a smartphone, she has been using her brother's phone since the 7th grade, so she is well-versed in navigating the digital realm.

Chandrika first learnt about UPI payments in the 10th grade. She had taken her brother's phone to look at Whatsapp when she noticed the Phone Pe logo and asked him what it was. She made her first transaction in the 12th grade when she loaned her friend some money.

Since leaving home, Chandrika has not used UPI or digital payments directly because she does not have access to her phone. Instead, she typically takes cash from home, and when she runs out, she asks people in her vicinity such as friends, the warden of her hostel or the hostel canteen staff to accept UPI payments from her brother and then withdraw the money to give to her in cash.

Chandrika does not just rely on her brother for digital payments, she looks to anyone who can help her out. Once, Chandrika needed to buy a pair of shoes for college but only had 300 rupees in cash, which wasn't enough. She asked the shopkeeper if he had UPI, to which he responded, "Yes, I do, sister." She got the shopkeeper's UPI number and called her cousin in Vizag. Explaining the situation, she requested her cousin to transfer the additional money to the shopkeeper. He promptly did so, enabling her to complete the purchase.

Although Chandrika has managed to tap into the world of digital payments without a device, she hopes to get a device soon as she can then make her own transactions as well as surf the internet. Once she gets her device, she will learn how to use it from her brother as he has always been the one to teach her new things.