Bengaluru, July 17 -- In a surprising twist for India's "tech capital", Bengaluru's street corners and marketplaces are slowly phasing out UPI payments and going old school with more cash payments - not due to tech failure, but due to fear of heavy taxes, Times Now reported.

Once championing QR-code payments for everything from ironing to betel leaves, many small vendors are now turning away digital wallets in favour of hard cash. Across the city, hand-written signs and printed notices stating "No UPI, only cash" have cropped up at roadside stalls, food carts and corner shops, the report stated.

This shift is for survival and not merely preference. Thousands of unregistered vendors have reportedly been slapped with Goods and Services Ta...