THE FINTECH REVOLUTION IN INDIA IS FINALLY HAPPENING, AND INTO THE MIX HAS ENTERED INDIA’S BIGGEST INTERNET ERA ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE, FLIPKART, WITH ITS PHONEPE UNIT. KIRANA STORES AND CONSUMERS ACROSS THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF THE COUNTRY CAN EXPECT CHANGE, SOON
UPI transactions: October 2016—0.1 million, October 2017—76.96 million. What a story!” wrote Nandan Nilekani, former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), in a tweet on November 1. Nilekani was, of course, referring to the spectacular success of India’s Unified Payments Interface, popularly called UPI, which every major payments provider— from banks to new-age mobile wallet providers—has enabled.
Riding this post-demonetisation (remember November 8, 2016?) wave are the mushrooming payments solutions providers, the biggest of which is the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-run Paytm, which supports the UPI platform, and the Bhim (Bharat Interface for Money) app, owned by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Added to the mix is Flipkart’s latest attempt at the digital payments business: PhonePe, which it took over in April 2016 from its enterprising co-founders Sameer Nigam, 40, and Rahul Chari, 40, who continue to operate as CEO and CTO respectively.
They, in fact, are driving PhonePe’s latest gambit—a calculator-based point-of-sale (POS) device—to counter the challenges of this highly competitive, albeit fast-growing space, and also, to further the cause of digitising India. Nigam believes the device, launched on October 31, will “easily be India’s point-of-sale device of the future”. The duo started work on it about 18 months ago, and every single aspect of it has been developed in-house, designed and manufactured for India, they say.
The inspiration for it came in early 2016 when, while walking around markets in various cities and towns, the complexity of India’s market became apparent to Nigam and Chari. And, therefore, the need for simplification.
Denne historien er fra December 8, 2017-utgaven av Forbes India.
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Denne historien er fra December 8, 2017-utgaven av Forbes India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet
