A digital payments revolution in India

1. In scenarios where UPI is replacing a cash transaction e.g., purchasing fruits from a fruit vendor on the street (just did it a few hours ago), the transaction is immediate. Disputes are settled exactly as how it would be done with a cash transaction i.e., discuss and settle with the vendor in situ.

India had a separate settlement mechanism called Cash-On-Delivery that was needed for companies like Amazon/FlipKart etc., to penetrate the ecommerce space before UPI came into being. Even Amazon does returns and refunds through their online/app-based customer service process.

2. In scenarios where UPI is replacing a credit card e.g., I order food through a food delivery app and an item is missing. The food delivery app provides a customer service option where they are able to resolve the issue (they could a. deliver the missing item at no charge, b. give me a cash coupon for the inconvenience that I can use on their app, c. refuse to resolve the issue). I haven't had a scenario where the service provider has refused to resolve the issue.

3. As far as fraud is concerned, a couple of months ago the local police visited our apartment complex for a brief meeting to educate people on frauds and safety. They focused on digital crimes and told us about the national helpline for cybercrime. [1] Residents can dial 1930 to reach the national cybercrime helpline to report crimes, including online frauds -- this also includes the QR code scams that you hear about in the media. They register the complaint and guide you with the process for recovering lost funds. I haven't done this myself, but what the officer explained is that based on the transaction details, the national cybercrime control center coordinates with the participating banks on both sides of the transaction to immediately freeze funds. You can also take the complaint number to the nearest police station and get an FIR (First Information Report) filed to get the fraudsters criminally prosecuted.

4. In scenarios involving a buyer-seller dispute, there is the consumer protection laws where the consumer can directly file suit against the provider in a consumer court. These are special courts (separate from the civil and criminal courts) and are very effective in protecting consumer rights. This works for all types of consumer disputes about service/product issues.

This would be the last resort for protecting consumer rights even in cases where a credit card company declines to handle a consumer's complaint on technicalities and is not just for UPI. These courts are at the district level in all states. [2]

People in the west and other developed countries have a lot more of their digital transactions occuring on credit/debit cards and are comparing that with UPI. While what UPI is doing overlaps with a lot of that, it also is more than that in enabling micropayments and p2p payments. So, that is of value for the average Indian resident.

[1]: https://cybercrime.gov.in/Webform/Helpline.aspx

[2]: http://ncdrc.nic.in/districtlist.html

As a "brown person", I resent this attempt at weaponizing racism just for the benefit of making your argument. Not only does it make your argument look petty and weak, but it actually damages the real efforts to battle true racism in the US. Please stop.

Speak to regular (not well connected) people who’ve been through the justice system. It’s not pretty.

But then maybe you’re lucky enough to live in a state with super responsive police and courts. After all, a lot of this stuff is a state subject and can vary by state.

But the stories of hellish experiences seem to come from all around the country.