My competition is with cash: Ajay Banga — LiveMint — “Eighty-five percent of the world’s retail payments — person to merchant — are in cash… So who do I view as my competition? Cash. I don’t view another network, I don’t view Paytm, I don’t view Apple as competition. We are actually working with all of them. They all need our technology.”
Paytm
Apple prepares to launch Apple Pay in India
Apple may launch payments service in India soon, eyes local partnerships — LiveMint — “In an interview at Apple’s Hyderabad development centre, Apple senior vice-president Eddy Cue said the company wants to launch Apple Pay in India in the near future without giving a specific date… The company will look to partner and integrate its payments service with established players in the country like Paytm, rather than build a new payments solution from scratch, Cue said.”
Google to enter mobile payments market in India
Google to launch payment app ‘Tez’ in India — The Ken — “Google is expected to partner ‘several large private banks in India’ for its payment product, Tez. Besides its own UPI-based service, Google is expected to integrate third-party payment wallets such as Paytm and MobiKwik among others on its platform.”
Paytm to launch chat feature in mobile app
Paytm to launch chat feature in mobile app — Economic Times — “Digital payments company Paytm will launch a chat facility built into its mobile app which will allow user-to-user communication. The feature is expected to be launched later this month.”
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August — Economic Times — “The newly-launched Paytm Payments Bank will go live on the unified payment interface (UPI) by August… This will allow its customers to transact using a virtual payment address issued by the bank. The payments bank will be the latest to join the UPI bandwagon, with 50 banks already live on the platform.”
Paytm Mall to bring brick-and-mortar stores online via QR codes
Paytm Mall to bring brick-and-mortar stores online via QR codes — LiveMint — “Similar to QR stickers used for Paytm app, Paytm Mall QR codes will be unique for each retailer. Customers will be able to scan the code using their smartphones and get access to the store’s inventory online… Customers using the feature will also get access to exclusive offers on Paytm Mall.”
Introducing Paytm Payments Bank
Introducing Paytm Payments Bank — Paytm — “We are proud to bring you Paytm Payments Bank — India’s first bank with zero charges on online transactions, no minimum balance requirement and free virtual debit card… Our ambition is to become India’s most trusted and consumer-friendly bank.”
Paytm raises $1.4 billion from SoftBank to expand user base
Paytm raises $1.4 billion from SoftBank to expand user base — Bloomberg — “The funding into One97 Communications, which operates the Paytm brand, will help the startup expand its user base of 220 million and build a large offering of financial services products… Alibaba and its payments affiliate Ant Financial held a 40 percent stake in One97 before this investment.”
Samsung Pay goes live across India with support for Paytm and UPI money transfers
Samsung Pay has launched in India with support from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank, with Citibank India support expected “shortly”. The service has also integrated India’s leading mobile wallet Paytm and comes with support for peer-to-peer money transfers through the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface platform. More
Paytm adds insurance to mobile wallet
Indian mobile wallet provider Paytm has added an insurance feature to its service that covers users for fraudulent transactions of up to Rs 20,000 (US$306) due to loss of device or unauthorised access to the service... More
Paytm ‘goes global’ with payment app in Canada
Indian mobile wallet provider Paytm has launched in Canada, marking the service’s first expansion outside India... More
Samsung Pay to launch in India with support from five Visa and Mastercard issuers — and Paytm
Samsung has begun inviting Galaxy phone owners in India to register for early access to Samsung Pay. Customers can opt to pre-register Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank debit or credit cards and SBI Cards credit cards today with support for American Express and Citibank to follow. Paytm’s market leading mobile wallet will also be supported by the service. More
NPCI, Mastercard and Visa unveil standardised QR code mobile payments for India
Indian consumers can now make QR code-based mobile payments using BharatQR, a “low cost, interoperable mobile acceptance solution” backed by the Indian government and developed by Mastercard, Visa and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)... More
Paytm expects up to 30% fall in offline customers
Indian mobile wallet Paytm “expects to lose 20-30%” of customers making offline payments using QR codes, OTP or mobile-to-mobile transfers when the Reserve Bank of India removes cash withdrawal limits on March 13, The Financial Express reports... More
Paytm targets 10m Indian mobile payments merchants
Indian mobile wallet provider Paytm wants to increase the number of stores where its QR code-based service is available from 3.5m to 10m... More
Mobile wallet provider to launch payments bank
Indian mobile payments provider Paytm has been granted permission from the Reserve Bank of India to formally launch a payments bank... More
State Bank of India blocks Paytm mobile wallet transfers
State Bank of India has stopped its customers from transferring money into Paytm mobile wallets, instead encouraging them to make use of its own State Bank Buddy service... More
Indian payments app ties up 15 mobile wallets
The Andhra Pradesh Government has launched the AP Purse mobile payment app, an Android service tying up 15 mobile wallets and payment gateway apps, including Paytm, MobiKwik and Freecharge, Live Mint reports... More
Paytm suspends App POS feature
Indian mobile payment provider Paytm has suspended a new feature in its mobile app two days after its launch, citing the need to “add additional certifications and features” before making it available again... More
India’s Reserve Bank increases mobile wallet limit
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the limit of money that can be kept in a mobile wallet to Rs 20,000 (US$291) from Rs 10,000 (US$145.5) following the withdrawal of Rs 500 (US$7) and Rs 1,000 ($14) notes... More