Parul
Indian digital payments leader Paytm on Tuesday announced the launch of its ‘All-in-One’ Android POS device for merchant partners across the country. This device helps merchants accept payments through Paytm Wallet, all UPI-based apps, debit and credit cards, and most importantly – cash.
The company said it aims to add close to 10 million merchants to its platform over the next 12-18 months as it brings new features to its payments platform.
“Over the past 18 months, we have invested much time in understanding the needs of small businesses around digital payments. We will continue to bring in features and solutions to address their challenges,” Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma
He added that the new features and products launched on Tuesday would provide an opportunity to add 10 million merchants over the next 12-18 months. Merchants are looking for solutions that not only support acceptance of all kinds of payments (UPI, card and wallets) but also allow easy reconciliation, he said.
Sharma added that Paytm’s Android-based POS machine would be “about 20-30 per cent cheaper and more comprehensive than the competition”.
Of the 26 billion digital transactions in the country in 2019, about 15 billion were made to merchants with debit cards and wallets accounting for a significant chunk, he said.
He added that with 300 million wallets, 100 million Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and 55 million bank accounts, Paytm is the most comprehensive payment app and that it is “bigger than all others combined in merchant mobile payments”.
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Delhi were the top states where Paytm was witnessing the highest merchant signups, while Bihar, West Bengal and Assam registered the fastest growth in merchant transactions.
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who was also present at the event, said Paytm should look at adding support by accepting Aadhaar-enabled Payments System (AePS).
“AePS is a silent success. There are 100 million Indians who use AePS to withdraw money in villages today. So if you can include AePS, it will further add to the proposition,” he said.
He also suggested that Paytm work on support for feature phones and develop solutions for those without a phone.
