Imagining life without UPI today feels almost unreal. In tier-1 cities, it has become the default mode of payment. Whether you are shopping in a luxury mall or buying vegetables from a street cart, a QR code is always there to scan and pay. Rickshaw pullers, small tea stalls, roadside vendors, and neighbourhood shopkeepers all have UPI apps.<\/p>\n
Carrying cash or worrying about change has almost disappeared. Paying for cabs, food deliveries, medicines, electricity bills, and mobile recharges is now simpler and more convenient. So much so that it is nearly impossible to ditch UPI and go back to using only cash. By the way, we tried it and wrote about the experiment earlier this month.<\/p>\n
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Today, we bring you the story of a 31-year-old HR professional who managed without UPI – well, almost – until 2025, in a city like Delhi, where people often ask, \u201cWho uses cash now?\u201d even for routine payments.<\/p>\n
When UPI was launched in 2016, Ritika Chandra* (name changed on request) was just starting her career. It was only in 2025 that she finally downloaded a UPI app and became a regular user. Before that, most of her transactions were done in cash, through debit cards, or via net banking, which required logging into the bank\u2019s website each time.<\/p>\n
A lot of cab drivers and online delivery partners prefer UPI payments. (Image: AI Generative)\n<\/p>\n
\u201cCash for smaller payments like commute, groceries, or food, and debit card for anything above Rs 2,000 was my mantra,\u201d she tells India Today Digital.<\/p>\n
Initially, when the country was still adapting to UPI payments, sticking to cash posed no problem for her. Even though her father, a retail store owner, had adopted UPI early on, she avoided it. Her preference for cash and a certain scepticism about digital payments kept her away.<\/p>\n
But around 2021, she began noticing how quickly UPI was becoming the norm.<\/p>\n
The scale of UPI today is remarkable. (Source: PIB)\n<\/p>\n
It showed up in small moments, such as how her peers settled bills after get-togethers. \u201cI was the only one dealing in cash while everyone else had upgraded to UPI,\u201d she says. Her colleagues often encouraged her to switch, pointing out how much easier it made life. There was no need to carry cash, worry about change, or even keep a wallet. Just carry your phone and you are good to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt never really appealed to me because my regular payments were quite limited. My parents run the household, so I only needed money for my office commute, occasional food indulgences, and shopping. Perhaps if I had also been responsible for paying electricity, internet, and other household bills, I might have made the switch too,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Whenever she had to make movie or travel bookings online, net banking was her go-to option.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Zomato account was also linked to my debit card at that time. On days when I felt I was becoming too reliant on online food deliveries, I would remove my debit card details and switch back to cash on delivery. Since I usually kept limited cash in my wallet, I ended up ordering less. It was basically a way to trick my brain by adding some friction, and it helped,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n
Eventually, the rapid rise of UPI began showing up in everyday moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore auto-rickshaw drivers started saying they didn\u2019t have change. I remember calling my mother five minutes before reaching home so she could keep the change ready. She would then throw the currency notes from the balcony of our first-floor home in Delhi,\u201d Chandra recalls.<\/p>\n
Chandra recalls how, before she started using UPI, she would call her mother minutes before reaching home so she could throw the exact auto fare down from their first-floor balcony in Delhi.\n<\/p>\n
Other times, she would get change from a fruit seller who set up his cart right below her home. Somehow, she managed.<\/p>\n
Sticking to cash also felt like a small act of rebellion, a refusal to conform.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn general, I don\u2019t really care what people think about me, so it didn\u2019t bother me if others assumed I was technologically challenged, lazy, or backward in this digital-first world. Even though it became a little challenging at times, I was completely okay with it. I also liked being old-school in this aspect of my life,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Apps like Splitwise also helped Chandra manage expenses with friends and colleagues while she continued to avoid UPI.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a colleague who lived nearby, and we would travel to and from work together. Most of the time she would pay using UPI because she rarely carried cash, while I preferred paying in cash. To keep things fair, we would note down our shared expenses on Splitwise. Instead of settling the money immediately after every ride, we would tally it up and settle the amount roughly every fortnight. That way, we didn\u2019t have to deal with the mismatch every single time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n