The global digital payments giant, PayPal is keen to work towards dominating the Indian market, according to media reports.
Speaking to Inc42, Anupam Pahuja, MD of PayPal India emphasised on the fact that PayPal takes the Indian market very seriously.
He said,
“Is India important to PayPal? The answer is an absolute yes. Different countries have different regulatory policies. In financial technology that I work in, India is far ahead than any other country.”
The digital payments scenario in India
Digital payment is the country is experiencing a huge rise like never before. Expert opinions say that India’s digital payments industry would grow to $500 Bn by 2020, contributing to 15% of the country’s GDP. India’s vast smartphone user base which is now the second largest in the world is a major reason behind that.
Although, initially digital payments did not make much headway. But post demonetisation, the industry saw an uplift with a slew of online payment systems evolving.
Some of the major digital payment modes are Online or mobile wallets, Prepaid credit cards, Debit/RuPay cards, Aadhaar Enabled Payment System, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data based mobile banking, United Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app, etc.
PayPal in India
PayPal has been working in India since November last year. Alibaba-backed firm Paytm in India, PhonePe and BHIM, and global entrants such as Google and WhatsApp might pose a stiff competition to the company. But Pahuja is not worried about that.
His major source of worry is the fact that 90% of the payments in India still happen in cash. However, he thinks that with the Indian government the digital payments in the country, PayPal has a lot to hope for.
What are the obstacles on the way?
PayPal intends to reach out to the small and medium scale industries in cities and in smaller towns. It has started working on a model of cluster workshops across India. These cluster workshops are in place in smaller towns such as Jodhpur, Rajasthan, etc. and as well as in major cities.
Some of the major problems that can affect PayPal’s business is the problem of language barrier. The helpline numbers for the customers as well as the merchants are in English, this might pose a problem. Again, lack of good internet connectivity can also prove to be a hindrance.
But Pahuja has a solution for that. If anyone wants to use PayPal, Pahuja said, they don’t necessarily need an Internet. They can use it via SMS also.
Future Plans
In the road ahead, the company is aiming to build over its current product stack to further expand its presence in the Indian digital payments market.
In the next five years, Paypal intends to overtake the existing leaders such as PhonePe, Paytm and Amazon Pay.
PayPal has also recently agreed with the RBI’s directive to store the transaction data of its customers in India locally.
India is a huge market for PayPal, not just in terms of e-commerce and customer transactions but in the picture of the rise of startups in India. It is to be seen how the company makes use of the growing opportunities in the country.
Also Read: Jio Payments Bank Kicks Off, Might Pose Threat To Paytm, Airtel
