Mahadev’s Story

Mahadev, a 32-year-old auto driver from Araku, Andhra Pradesh, has been driving for six years after completing his higher secondary education.

He lives with his wife and their baby, while his parents and sister, who are farmers, live separately but nearby. During the peak season in the winter months, Mahadev earns around ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 per day, but this income is halved during the off-season.

He had started using PhonePe about 3-4 months earlier. Before that, he avoided carrying his phone while working, fearing it would get damaged by rain since he often encountered wet conditions as an auto driver. It was his ex-brother-in-law who taught him how to use the app.

However, Mahadev faced issues with PhonePe because his phone number is linked to the Aadhaar and bank accounts of his parents and sister. As a result, when he accesses PhonePe, all their accounts appear, so his sister and parents would not be able to get onboarded onto individual PhonePe accounts if they wanted to.

Mahadev also tried to get onboarded with the Andhra Grameen Bank (AGB) app. However, since his sister had an account in that bank linked to his phone number, he couldn't proceed.