India Native Wake: Payments in India

Exploring Payment Methods in India: A Comprehensive Guide Explaining Indian Payment Companies and How to Buy Indian Goods in the Country

Overview of payment methods in India:

1. Paytm - Known as India's version of Alipay, Paytm dominates the mobile payments and e-commerce space in India. The platform has partnered with more than 180 domestic and international banks, including Visa and Mastercard, and has 450 million verified users.Paytm has been granted a banking licence and aspires to become the world's largest digital bank with 500 million accounts, offering a range of online financial services from wealth management to credit cards and stock trading.Paytm is the largest digital wallet in the world with 12.2 million wallet users and 90 million monthly transaction volume leads the market and has become almost synonymous with digital wallets in India.

What it does: Paytm's services span e-commerce, payment banking and online payments, including mobile recharges, online shopping, utility bill payments, metro card recharges, municipal supplies, motorway toll payments, app shop recharges, credit and financial services, and ticket bookings. The platform has partnerships with core companies across industries.

Business characteristics: Paytm's strengths lie in its extensive coverage, detailed business categorisation, large partner network, large user base and diverse payment channels. However, the operation where users need to recharge their wallets after each transaction may affect the user experience due to security measures such as PIN codes or pattern locks.

2. Mobikwik - India's second largest payment wallet with 40 million users, Mobikwik saw a surge in app downloads of 40% after the currency demonetisation policy was implemented. it launched a co-branded digital wallet product in partnership with IndusInd Bank "IndusInd Mobikwik".

Business: Mobikwik provides mobile payment and online wallet services for online shopping, utility bill payments and app shop top-ups.

Business Features:Mobikwik focuses on payment transfers and has partnerships with 17 Indian banks. It supports international payments including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Maestro.

3. Freecharge - As the third largest third party payment platform in India, Freecharge has 30 million users and a monthly transaction volume of 30 million orders.

Business: Freecharge provides mobile payment and online wallet services, including online shopping, utility bill payments and app shop top-ups.

Business Features:Freecharge is currently focusing on payment wallet services and has a stable user traffic base, having been part of the Snapdeal ecosystem.

4. BHIM - Launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), BHIM is India's first government-promoted mobile wallet that supports the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for simple, fast and convenient transactions.

Business: BHIM allows users to make payments directly to anyone via UPI ID or scanning a QR code. Unlike other payment apps, BHIM supports direct bank transfers without the need to fill up your wallet. The app also works on feature phones without internet connectivity.

Business features: BHIM's main shortcoming is that it is a late market entrant and only supports Android. Currently only Hindi and English are supported, with plans to introduce local language support.

5. Flipkart - Initially the largest e-commerce platform in India, Flipkart has expanded into financial services. It has raised around $4 billion from giants like eBay, Microsoft, Tencent and Softbank.

Business : Flipkart's mobile wallet focuses on online shopping payments.

Business Features:Designed primarily for online shopping payments, Flipkart's wallet has a strong user and merchant base.

6. Oxigen - An ISO 9001:2015 and 27001:2013 certified company, Oxigen is one of the largest payment solution providers in India, offering a comprehensive range of services including mobile and online payment processing, collection and remittance.

Business: Oxigen provides online payments, collection and remittance, credit services and payment aggregation services for different industries.

Business characteristics: Oxigen has a wide reach and many partners, as well as a strong presence in rural financial inclusion services.

7. Hike - Backed by Tencent, Hike is a unique Indian company offering a wallet similar to WeChat Pay with a strong user base of over 100 million.

Business: Hike provides user transfer services, UPI payments and mobile phone top-ups.

Business Features: Hike offers UPI-based payment capabilities supported by a strong user base for its social applications.

Buy Indian goods in the country:

With deepening globalisation and the popularity of cross-border e-commerce platforms, consumers can now buy Indian goods directly from abroad without having to deal with complicated logistics and customs procedures. These platforms enable customers to browse, select, order and pay online, with the seller taking care of shipping the goods to the country. In addition, consumers can utilise domestic and international agents to enjoy a convenient shopping experience. It is essential for consumers to be aware of relevant cross-border shopping policies, customs regulations and product authenticity to avoid unnecessary hassles and losses.