– Wants to go deeper into India for the next phase of user growth
– Aiming to develop the buying behavior of customers to pay using Paytm at kirana stores
– Set to power over 20 million retail merchants to accept all payment modes including UPI, Wallet, and Cards
– After clear market leadership in tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, now aiming to capture tier 4 and 5 towns
Digital Payments leader Paytm has today announced that it is shifting its cash back focus from P2P UPI transactions to offline merchant payments at retail kirana stores. After clear leadership in tier 1, 2 and 3 markets, the company is going deeper into India for the next phase of growth while also targeting users who are primarily relying on cash transactions. This move will expand the digital payments eco-system in India.
The payment company is targeting to partner with over 20 million retail kirana stores, enabling them to accept all digital payment modes including UPI, Wallet and Cards. Instead of putting cash backs on UPI P2P transactions, it aims to develop the buying behavior of customers by using Paytm at stores. UPI P2P payments are often done by users to gain some extra money, and they gamify the system to serve the purpose, which is detrimental to a cashless economy. Also, on Paytm, the UPI users are already the ones who have been using a large host of Paytm services for long and doesn’t require cash backs to make payments.
Also, to help merchants get better access to capital and provide more financial security Paytm will invest further on lending and insurance, rather than on P2P payments.
Paytm already has the largest number of offline merchants and digital services – from movies to bill payments, and from wealth management to travel bookings. Through its payment ecosystem Paytm has already created a network effect, with over 5 billion transactions in 2018-19. It also has 12 million merchant partners accepting payments through Paytm QR, which accepts all digital payment instruments such as UPI, wallets, cards and net banking.
“Paytm will be investing money in offline merchant expansion instead of driving incentive led P2P transactions. Our offline merchants create high-frequency usage and an important use-case for Paytm consumers. By investing in real merchant payments even in the remotest part of our country, we will help expand the vision of Digital India to the grassroots.” said Deepak Abbot, Sr. Vice President – Paytm.