Fintech firms eye new strategies
2 min read . Updated: 18 Apr 2020, 12:23 AM IST- PhonePe has also introduced a 'Pay Now' feature on the Stores page
- Paytm also announced its updated interface, bringing essential payments to the fore
BENGALURU : As the extended lockdown continues to impact commerce, payments firms are looking at different strategies to make up for the decline in volumes.
For instance, PhonePe and Paytm have started changing the user interface for their mobile apps, to help assist in payments and delivery of essential services and items.
“We have a unique product called “Stores" on our app, where we show all merchants in the vicinity of the customer as per their current location. We have now introduced two filters in the Stores section “currently operational" and “home delivery", which keeps getting updated frequently and changing dynamically," said Karthik Raghupathy, vice-president, strategy and business development, PhonePe.
PhonePe has also introduced a “Pay Now" feature on the Stores page, for which customers don’t need to scan a QR code, and instead, can make the payment directly on the page, after placing the order.
Last week, Paytm also announced its updated interface, bringing essential payments to the fore, including mobile and DTH recharge, bill payments (electricity, water and gas), credit card and insurance premium. PhonePe has followed a similar strategy.
“We have revamped the user interface so that it is seamless, making it easy to pay for home essentials. Right now the focus is to keep fellow Indians safe in their homes and make it possible to reduce their venturing out as much as possible," said a Paytm spokesperson. In addition, both Paytm and PhonePe have partnered with insurance companies Reliance General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to offer coronavirus-related insurance policies covering hospitalisation and quarantine expenses.
On the other hand, online payment gateways are working to provide digital payment solutions to kiranas through link-based payments and dynamic QRs.
“For offline payments, we are revamping and focusing energies on our ‘ePoS’ payment app, which we introduced during demonetisation. It allows users to pay a merchant on their phone through a link or a QR code, sent to them. At least for a year, the digital payments industry will be focusing on building tech, which will help in eliminating as many physical touch points as possible," said Harshil Mathur, co-founder and CEO, Razorpay.
Mohit Gopal, Senior Vice President and Strategy Head, PayU India, said, “We aren’t going to individual mom-and-pop stores; BharatQR enabled an early and easy way for us to get there. And, for offline link-based payments, large enterprise merchants like to keep operations with a single ecosystem player, which helps us leverage our core skill sets and facilitate smooth reconciliation and operations for them."
Gopal said PayU‘s acquisition of digital financial security firm Wibmo last April, enabled it to be a tech-service provider to financial institutions and large enterprise merchants rather than just being a payments player. “We are also leveraging our capabilities from the PayU ecosystem and focusing on being a strong tech-service provider to several clients and bolstering our operations in return."
With several online players trying to provide contactless payments for the offline ecosystem, Sanjay Doshi, partner and head, financial services advisory, KPMG India, said: “Products and solutions around instant payment, fully contactless payments, digital -onboarding and omnichannel commerce (ordering online and picking up from nearby store) is likely to grow, and fintech firms should change focus on offering such solutions. The focus should be given on development of contactless payment solutions to prevent the spreading of the virus any further from the exchange of the currency."
×
![]()