My friend and I walked up to the pharmacy counter in Ahmedabad. We asked the clerk if there's rubbing alcohol so we can sanitize and disinfect our hotels as we go on our road trip throughout Gujarat. No, there's no rubbing alcohol, but there is a big bottle of Sterillium which is fancy, medical grade hand sanitizer and bottles of regular sanitizer available. We remark that this is a big bottle and ask if they have anything else, but he doesn't give us other choices.
As I'm staring at this 500ml bottle, I'm trying to think how I'm suppose to get this on a plane because I don't feel like checking my bag. What I'm not worried about is how I'm going to pay. The clerk manually types in each of the items we are going to buy and proudly shows us the discount. It was Rs.800, but for us, it'll be Rs. 680. As I'm getting ready to pay, my friend pulls out a Rs.500 note and says "This is what I have." I had to admire her smooth resoluteness in wanting to bargain at a pharmacy. The clerk says goes on and on that this is the cost of the items and doesn't want to lower the price. We're at an impasse, but my friend is steadfast. Miraculously, the clerk's co-worker finds a smaller bottle of the Sterillium that is 100ml and much cheaper. He types our items up again and prints out the bill for us to see. The price comes out to Rs.324, well within our budget. Then I pull out my phone and, as I start to scan the QR code to pay, I say, "I hope this works". The resounding trumpet from my app heralds that a successful, cashless electronic payment has gone through.
We walked away triumphantly and the clerk was left standing there annoyed, probably wondering why we didn't just pay that way in the first place. But I don't have time for his feelings. I'm just glad that I was able to pay with a UPI in India as a foreigner.
'Now wait a minute', you may be thinking, 'didn't I read a post that foreigners can't use UPIs?' Yes, you're right, you did read that. But I have since learned about a UPI that foreigners can use and easily sign up for.
Cheq It Out
In early 2023, India was preparing to host the G20 September. To welcome their guests and to make their experience better, the government opened up United Payment Interfaces (UPI) to any visitor that comes from one of the G20 countries. I stalked the internet prior to my trip to find out how I get this UPI because it is a hassle trying to get or give exact change and most vendors would prefer electronic payments. Even when I came across the
official website for this program, it was still not very clear where and how I could sign up for one. But then a little birdie told me about Cheq, which is owned by
Transcorp (no wonder I couldn't find it).
Cheq has branch offices in major cities where they can do a validation called KYC (Know Your Customer) to validate your passport and visa details. There isn't an office in Jodhpur, so when I went to Ahmedabad, the Transcorp office was one of my first stops. The manager made it fairly painless to finish signing up. You can either pay the registration fee beforehand online or while in the office. If you are already in a location with a branch, they will even send an agent to validate you so you don't have to go to their offices.
The office manager walked me through finalizing my set up and I even got a free cup of chai. He was excited to see that I was from Philadelphia because he's a fan of Kevin Hart, who's also from Philly. The manager let me know that usually debit cards don't have success in loading money to the UPI, but credit cards do. And that was true in my case. Unfortunately, you can't upload rupees to the UPI, only your country's currency. So while my credit and debit card will give me the best exchange rate of Rs.83 per dollar, Cheq gave me their conversion rate of about Rs.77 per dollar. Even though I don't like the exchange rate, I have to remember that having the UPI is giving me peace of mind, convenience, less frustration, and not having to do any math. Plus with the rupees I'd lose out on due to rounding, it probably evens out.
So why am I writing this post? I have no affiliation with Cheq or Transcorp other than being a customer. I'm not being paid to write this. I just know that when you have good information that can benefit someone else, it's best not to keep it to yourself but to share it with others.
Educate yourself on Cheq
Before signing up, read more about Cheq and decide if it's right for you. I personally love it and haven't had too many issues with it. I only have two remarks. First is that it only works with official businesses/vendors. You can't send payments to personal accounts, so this could potentially exclude some auto drivers. But you can add the UPI as a payment method in the rideshare app OLA (
there aren't many Uber drivers in Jodhpur). And you can think of it this way: Without the UPI, if you go out to dinner you have to have enough cash to cover your carfare and your meal. With the UPI, you only need enough cash for carfare, which is savings in and of itself. The second, and very minor caveat, is that you can't turn your phone in to a mobile hotspot while doing a transaction, otherwise it will fail. Other than that, I have no complaints; it has made me feel a lot more 'local'.
Whether you're planning your first trip to India or you are a veteran, I hope this post makes your journey in this amazing country a little easier.
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