💸 Saw a man with a QR code card begging at a signal

Yesterday at a signal a man came up to my window and held out his hand. I said sorry, no change. He smiled, pulled a plastic card from his pocket and said, scan it. It had a QR code printed on it. Any amount works, he said, even 5 rupees. I sat there stunned for a second. Then the signal turned green and the car behind me honked. I scanned it and sent 10 rupees. It took less time than finding coins in the dashboard. My father would have said this was the end of the world. He still carries a coin pouch. A friend told me she saw the same at a signal near Koti last month, a card tied on a string. Cashless everything has reached the corner of the road, I guess. Digital India, as people joke. The other thing I noticed lately is how each signal seems to have its own regular faces. Near Charminar it's one group, at Mehdipatnam another, and you start recognising them like shopkeepers. Last week at Musheerabad a new man turned up and the regular one wasn't happy at all. There was shouting and some pushing, until a traffic constable came and sent both of them off. I don't know what's behind any of it and I'm not judging anyone. It's just what I see daily. A QR card, a fixed spot, a small argument over turf. It looks like a tiny economy at every junction. Has anyone else seen the QR thing in their area? Or was I just unlucky to be the 1st? I'm also curious if other cities have it too, or if it started here first.

Saw the same QR card at a signal near Mehdipatnam last month. I didn't scan it, just stared. The speaker thing someone mentioned is real, I heard one go ding when a car in front paid.

Hahaha, you notice a lot at signals. I've seen the QR cards too, and in some places a small speaker. The speaker announces the amount out loud when the money arrives, like a shop counter. The fixed spots are true in our area also. The same 2 or 3 faces stand at the same corner. Nobody talks about it, but there's a whole quiet routine running in plain sight every day.