Shanti's Story
Shanti’s experiences with her phone, described here, help us think through the various dimensions and flows of the ontology of digital trust. Her story is but one of many ways in which the ontology finds applicability and relevance for women users in India.
Shanti is 23 years old and lives in Nagpur. Recently married, she now lives with her husband and in-laws. Her parents gifted her a smartphone a few months before the wedding so she could keep in touch with them
after moving away.
Before getting married, Shanti was part of a self-help group in Gadchiroli. In the last meeting she attended, Pushpa, the SHG leader, had introduced members to a UPI app. She had helped the group download the app onto their phones and set up their accounts. Shanti was curious about sending money through her phone but would immediately close the app every time she opened it.
All the different words and icons felt too confusing.
Confused, and hesitant to proceed, Shanti says, “I see the ‘Pay phone number’ option, but this doesn’t feel as easy as sending a message. What if the money disappears?”
Rekha smiles, “Don’t worry, it won’t! My husband taught me how to send money, but I only use it to pay the shopkeeper if I run out of cash.”
Shanti’s eyes light up as she realizes the app is more useful than she had initially thought. “Could you teach me, please?”
Rekha shows Shanti how to make a transaction by sending her 5 rupees.
She sees that money has not been sent. “Okay, I see. I think I will need to practice sending money to get the hang of it.”
Rekha nods, “We can practice as many times as you want. Maybe the next time we go to the shop, you can also try paying the shopkeeper with the app!”
Shanti’s face lights up. “Thank you, Bhabhi! I hope I can learn quickly and feel more confident doing this myself.”
Shanti gets a confirmation message on her phone and sees that it was not only easy to use, but that it worked perfectly.
Rekha nudges her, “See? Why don’t you try sending me the money back? That way you can practice too.”
Shanti slowly enters Rekha’s phone number and the amount. She stares at the screen to double check that it is the amount she wants to send.
The app times out as she is about to enter her PIN, so she worries, “Did I click the wrong button? Is the money gone?”
Rekha assures her, “This can happen sometimes, don’t worry. You can easily check if the money has been sent by clicking on
‘My Transactions’.”
Shanti nervously navigates to the transactions page.
One day, Shanti is about to open the YouTube app on her phone to watch videos with her sister-in-law, Rekha.
Just then, Rekha notices the UPI icon on the screen and points at it, “Oh! Do you use SmartPay too?”
She looks up at Rekha and says, “No, I have always found it rather confusing. Plus, I don’t have much use for it because my husband handles our money. I suppose if I ever need to send my family money, it would be nice to know how.”
When Rekha nudges Shanti to open the app, she finds that it displays a screen with multiple options.
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