We are aware of how digitisation has instituted a change in the way products and services are offered. The emergence of online platforms that enable operational efficiency through improved production techniques and logistics has enabled online players to reach broader customer base at lower costs and improved margins, threatening the existence of traditional markets.
Several start-ups are relying on the speed and ease offered by online platforms and are able to build a business model that renders the products and services offered by traditional markets obsolete. One such example is Paytm, an Indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company. Founded in 2010, the company has grown over the years by partnering with several online merchants and diverse organisations and institutions to provide products and services that enable customers to book flights, trains, hotels and pay for utility bills, mobile and internet connection and for digital tv subscriptions. In 2014 Paytm launched Paytm Wallet, an online digital payment platform which allows users to transfer cash to an online wallet via online banking and debit and credit cards.
The integration of several products and services allows consumers to use Paytm as a single source for shopping and to utilise online wallet for all their payment needs. For example, Paytm’s integrated network with the national railway system and taxi service Uber allows it to extend its services and mobile payment platform to new customers (Uber’s and railways’) at an extremely fast pace and facilitates the payment by providing an option to pay by through Paytm’s online wallet.
Paytm Wallet is an extremely simple concept:
1. The user needs to sign up with Paytm by registering his/her mobile number.
2. The user then can transfer money to Paytm Wallet through internet banking, debit/credit card or Paypal.
3. This online wallet can be used to make payment over hundreds of websites who offer payment through Paytm Wallet.
One distinguishing feature of Paytm Wallet is that it allows small merchants to request payments by entering the mobile number of the customers, prompting a message on the customer’s phone to allow the wallet payment. The ease with which such transfers are made makes digital wallets convenient substitutes to hard cash. This is substantiated by a study conducted by Visa which reveals that Americans are twice as likely to carry a smartphone as cash.
References:
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/features/what-is-paytm-and-how-to-use-paytm-wallet-1625271
