No long queues, no panicking customers: India’s banks start exchanging discontinued 2,000-rupee notes

Resident Sanjeev Sen Gupta said he would check with a store to see if he could get rid of his notes by buying some jewellery. 

“It totally depends on the understanding between the businessman and the customer. I am sure the jewellery shop owner will think about whether he should accept them,” he added. 

Meanwhile, some businesses are hoping to cash in on the situation by encouraging shoppers to use up their notes by purchasing goods or services.

Another resident, Ms Sangeeta Sehgal, said: “The businesses are giving us options. They are telling us to go to their gyms and to go to their shops. 

“I am also getting these messages on WhatsApp telling me that I can buy all kinds of clothes using 2,000-rupee notes. So, they have now used this to boost their sales, be it jewellers or any other businesses. So a lot of us are spending our 2,000-rupees notes in the market this way.”

As people shop to avoid the hassle of going to a bank, this has reportedly led to an increase in sales for many businesses, said analysts. 

This could benefit gold merchants and real estate companies, they added.