By Peerzada Mohsin Shafi

Srinagar- On a cold morning in Srinagar’s old city, the air smells of brewing tea. Bashir Ahmad stands behind his wooden stall, pouring steaming cups into paper glasses. Beside the teapot hangs a small QR code, laminated and smudged from use. A young customer scans, a soft beep sounds, and the deal is done.

“I don’t count cash anymore,” Bashir says, tucking his phone into his side pocket. “I count pings.”

That ping has now become the new language of trade in the valley.

QR codes, once seen as city toys, have spread from Lal Chowk boutiques to vegetable carts in Sopore and tea stalls in Pulwama. Everyone scans, pays, and moves on.

The engine behind this change is India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a system that lets people transfer money instantly b

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