ITV

Category: e-commerce

  • Day-long cash queues activate Jugnoo digital & MobiKwik transfers

    Day-long cash queues activate Jugnoo digital & MobiKwik transfers

    MUMBAI: Yours digitally — seems to be the new salutation. Owing to demonetisation, queues outside banks and ATM centres only seem to get longer. With people trying to exchange their old currency, the use of debit and credit cards has suddenly come into prominence.

    Keeping the demand in mind, MobiKwik has announced that it is prepared to serve over 300 million users with secure, seamless payments. The company already has over 35 million users and is witnessing over 40 per cent more app downloads on a daily basis. It hopes to have over 10 million users on its platform within the next 30 days alone.

    “We have scaled up our infrastructure within the last few days and are prepared to manage over 300 million users and over 100 million daily transactions,” said MobiKwik co-founder Upasana Taku. The company has launched a user support number that is operational 24×7. Users can call to download MobiKwik app and start sending or receiving money for free. It has registered 18 x growths in transactions since the announcement of demonetization.

    Users can load money using their credit/debit cards or netbanking. They can also convert their Payback points, earned from ICICI bank debit/credit cards, Big Bazaar, Central, HP Petrol Pumps, MakeMyTrip, eBay, BookMyShow and American Express; and reward points earned from SBI, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank & Bank of Baroda to MobiKwik cash.

    MobiKwik money can be transferred to any mobile number or bank account instantly. Whereas, Jugnoo has witnessed an unprecedented growth in transactions executed using digital wallets. The leading auto-rickshaw aggregator, which is currently operational in over 40 Indian cities, has registered an increase of up to 80 percent cashless transactions across all locations via its platform.

    The top five cities where Jugnoo has registered the highest number of cashless payments post the demonetization announcement are: Gurgaon, Mysore, Chandigarh, Noida, and Pune. These cities have recorded 100 to 150 per cent spike in digital transactions.

    “We welcome the government’s move to demonetize high denomination currency in an effort to curb the entry of black money in India, and by extension, encourage the masses to go digital. At Jugnoo, We have always advocated safe & secure cashless transactions as it provides convenience and eliminates the cash handling process. We are educating our customers to use digital payment wallets as much as possible instead of cards or cash, and are encouraging them to use such options on a permanent basis,” said Jugnoo co-founder and chief technology officer Chinmay Agarwal.

    Apart from digital wallets, Jugnoo also recently announced that it would be introducing UPI (Unified Payment Interface) as an initiative to uphold the cashless economy of country. Earlier this year, the company took another step in this direction via a very innovative move of empowering auto-rickshaw drivers to recharge the customers’ Paytm wallet to address the issue of returning change after completing the ride. Further supporting the cause, Jugnoo is also planning to tie-up with Payment banks, a new model of banks conceptualized by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) last year that enable transfer of money through a mobile phone.

    “We have tried to go cashless since the outset as it provides convenience to both customers and us. Coincidentally we were celebrating the month as NoChangeNovember to educate the customers towards the cause. However, we did have the COD (Cash on Delivery) option due to the nature of our business and the Indian customer’s preference for cash payment. Following the recent development in demonetized bank notes, we have informed all our drivers to stop accepting cash till further notice, and are also educating our customers to use digital wallets as much as possible instead of plastic cards or cash,” he added further.

    The most common digital wallets that are being presently used by Jugnoo users to make payments are – Paytm, Mobikwik, and Freecharge.

  • Via.com e-comm launches ‘Lite’ for mobile browsing

    Via.com e-comm launches ‘Lite’ for mobile browsing

    MUMBAI: Leading omni channel travel, retail and fintech company, Via.com, has launched a Lite version of its website for mobile browsing in India. The Lite version is aimed at helping users browse its website faster on their smart phones in areas with slow or poor internet connectivity.

    Via.com is the most comprehensive & consistently profitable travel e-commerce company with 10 years of experience & presence in six countries: India, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and UAE.

    “Via Lite” loads six times faster and provides a better experience to users in urban and rural areas with patchy networks. Another advantage of the Lite version is that it can be added as a bookmark on the mobile home screen. Other remarkable features include personalised notifications for the latest deals and vouchers and great offline experience. The offline experience would mean that in case of flaky internet connection, you can also search offline. However, the offline experience is currently available only in the airlines segment. VIA will extend this feature to the hotels, holidays and bus segment in the next three months.

    Via.com is one of Asia’s leading omni channel travel, retail & fintech company. Its distribution strategy includes enabling small businesses with an intuitive tech platform which helps them with best in class content, closed looped wallet and a range of CRM & accounting functionalities to run their business effectively.

    The version that has just been unveiled has already led to an increase in mobile bookings by 200 per cent in just one week.

    According to Via.com CTO Varun Gupta, “This feature is primarily for consumers using slower internet connections. “With powerful features like push notifications, offline access, add-to-home screen, fast page load and a smooth user interface, the main message is that you don’t need to choose between web or app. We are providing users with a frictionless and highly engaging experience on the mobile web.”

    Via.com launched its mobile app last year and has launched many innovative features, including fare calendar, various payment gateways, etc since then. Progressive web app (PWA) is a new technology which is intended to help website operators to instil their mobile websites with features typically associated with mobile apps. Known for its penchant for innovation, VIA is one of the few companies in India to join the PWA bandwagon.

  • Via.com e-comm launches ‘Lite’ for mobile browsing

    Via.com e-comm launches ‘Lite’ for mobile browsing

    MUMBAI: Leading omni channel travel, retail and fintech company, Via.com, has launched a Lite version of its website for mobile browsing in India. The Lite version is aimed at helping users browse its website faster on their smart phones in areas with slow or poor internet connectivity.

    Via.com is the most comprehensive & consistently profitable travel e-commerce company with 10 years of experience & presence in six countries: India, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and UAE.

    “Via Lite” loads six times faster and provides a better experience to users in urban and rural areas with patchy networks. Another advantage of the Lite version is that it can be added as a bookmark on the mobile home screen. Other remarkable features include personalised notifications for the latest deals and vouchers and great offline experience. The offline experience would mean that in case of flaky internet connection, you can also search offline. However, the offline experience is currently available only in the airlines segment. VIA will extend this feature to the hotels, holidays and bus segment in the next three months.

    Via.com is one of Asia’s leading omni channel travel, retail & fintech company. Its distribution strategy includes enabling small businesses with an intuitive tech platform which helps them with best in class content, closed looped wallet and a range of CRM & accounting functionalities to run their business effectively.

    The version that has just been unveiled has already led to an increase in mobile bookings by 200 per cent in just one week.

    According to Via.com CTO Varun Gupta, “This feature is primarily for consumers using slower internet connections. “With powerful features like push notifications, offline access, add-to-home screen, fast page load and a smooth user interface, the main message is that you don’t need to choose between web or app. We are providing users with a frictionless and highly engaging experience on the mobile web.”

    Via.com launched its mobile app last year and has launched many innovative features, including fare calendar, various payment gateways, etc since then. Progressive web app (PWA) is a new technology which is intended to help website operators to instil their mobile websites with features typically associated with mobile apps. Known for its penchant for innovation, VIA is one of the few companies in India to join the PWA bandwagon.

  • Paytm to hire over 10,000 agents to onboard offline merchants

    Paytm to hire over 10,000 agents to onboard offline merchants

    MUMBAI: Paytm is looking to hire over 10,000 Paytm agents as it seeks to aggressively expand its offline merchant network to over 20 lakh touch-points by the end of the current fiscal year.

    Paytm’s cashless payments are widely accepted across India owing to the ease, convenience and safety they offer. Thanks to the country’s overwhelming response to Paytm, it is setting bolder targets to acquire more offline merchants in the coming months.

    Paytm SVP Amit Sinha said, “As millions of consumers across India have taken to using their Paytm Wallets to transact offline, our biggest opportunity is to be available in every town and city in the country. We want to reach there faster, are looking to further strengthen our onboarding teams as we continue to build India’s biggest payments network.”

    Brick-and-mortar merchants and other online-to-offline sectors present a huge opportunity for Paytm to integrate its fast, secure and convenient payment solution. The company has recently registered unprecedented growth in offline payments. The Paytm platform saw an overwhelming 435% increase in overall traffic within hours of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing his plans to have a corruption-free India. This is a great showcase of how fast consumers across the country are taking to the ease, convenience and safety Paytm’s cashless payments offer.

  • Paytm to hire over 10,000 agents to onboard offline merchants

    Paytm to hire over 10,000 agents to onboard offline merchants

    MUMBAI: Paytm is looking to hire over 10,000 Paytm agents as it seeks to aggressively expand its offline merchant network to over 20 lakh touch-points by the end of the current fiscal year.

    Paytm’s cashless payments are widely accepted across India owing to the ease, convenience and safety they offer. Thanks to the country’s overwhelming response to Paytm, it is setting bolder targets to acquire more offline merchants in the coming months.

    Paytm SVP Amit Sinha said, “As millions of consumers across India have taken to using their Paytm Wallets to transact offline, our biggest opportunity is to be available in every town and city in the country. We want to reach there faster, are looking to further strengthen our onboarding teams as we continue to build India’s biggest payments network.”

    Brick-and-mortar merchants and other online-to-offline sectors present a huge opportunity for Paytm to integrate its fast, secure and convenient payment solution. The company has recently registered unprecedented growth in offline payments. The Paytm platform saw an overwhelming 435% increase in overall traffic within hours of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing his plans to have a corruption-free India. This is a great showcase of how fast consumers across the country are taking to the ease, convenience and safety Paytm’s cashless payments offer.

  • Paytm’s traffic up by 435 per cent within hours of PM’s announcement

    Paytm’s traffic up by 435 per cent within hours of PM’s announcement

    MUMBAI: Mobile payment platform Paytm is registering massive growth across India within hours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcing the ongoing ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination of notes. The Paytm platform saw an overwhelming 435 per cent increase in overall traffic as millions of consumers across India have taken to using their Paytm Wallets to transact offline.

    The company registered a 200 per cent hike in number of app downloads and 250 per cent surge in number of overall transactions and transaction value. The number of Saved Cards also grew by 30 per cent, pointing at a strong set of repeat customers the platform has now acquired. The company has noted 1000 per cent growth in money added to the wallet and 400 per cent growth in transaction value of offline payments. This is a great showcase of how fast consumers across the country are taking to the ease, convenience and safety Paytm’s cashless payments offer.

    Paytm CFO Madhur Deora said, “This is the biggest and most ambitious step ever to crack down on black money and fake currency. We stand by the government in its efforts towards taking black money out of the equation and offering a major boost to the Indian economy. Since Paytm is fast becoming synonymous to all kinds of payments, we are happy to announce we have registered a strong surge in volume on our platform.”

    Paytm’s cashless payments are widely accepted across India owing to the ease, convenience and safety they offer. Brick-and-mortar merchants and other Online-to-Offline sectors present a huge opportunity for Paytm to integrate its fast, secure and convenient payment solution. With the country’s overwhelming response to Paytm, it is setting bolder targets to achieve its goal of helping India’s transition into a cashless economy.

  • Paytm’s traffic up by 435 per cent within hours of PM’s announcement

    Paytm’s traffic up by 435 per cent within hours of PM’s announcement

    MUMBAI: Mobile payment platform Paytm is registering massive growth across India within hours of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcing the ongoing ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination of notes. The Paytm platform saw an overwhelming 435 per cent increase in overall traffic as millions of consumers across India have taken to using their Paytm Wallets to transact offline.

    The company registered a 200 per cent hike in number of app downloads and 250 per cent surge in number of overall transactions and transaction value. The number of Saved Cards also grew by 30 per cent, pointing at a strong set of repeat customers the platform has now acquired. The company has noted 1000 per cent growth in money added to the wallet and 400 per cent growth in transaction value of offline payments. This is a great showcase of how fast consumers across the country are taking to the ease, convenience and safety Paytm’s cashless payments offer.

    Paytm CFO Madhur Deora said, “This is the biggest and most ambitious step ever to crack down on black money and fake currency. We stand by the government in its efforts towards taking black money out of the equation and offering a major boost to the Indian economy. Since Paytm is fast becoming synonymous to all kinds of payments, we are happy to announce we have registered a strong surge in volume on our platform.”

    Paytm’s cashless payments are widely accepted across India owing to the ease, convenience and safety they offer. Brick-and-mortar merchants and other Online-to-Offline sectors present a huge opportunity for Paytm to integrate its fast, secure and convenient payment solution. With the country’s overwhelming response to Paytm, it is setting bolder targets to achieve its goal of helping India’s transition into a cashless economy.

  • Paytm is Forbes India’s ‘Outstanding Startup for the Year’

    Paytm is Forbes India’s ‘Outstanding Startup for the Year’

    MUMBAI: Paytm, the Noida-based e-commerce platform which would be the biggest gainers of the government decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, has pocketed the ‘Outstanding Startup for the Year’ award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards (FILA) here yesterday. India Inc’s brightest, biggest and bravest entrepreneurs were honoured at FILA.

    Lupin’s Vinita & Nilesh Gupta won Forbes India ‘Entrepreneur for the Year 2016’ award and YK Hamied was conferred the Lifetime Achievement award.

    The awards across nine categories acknowledged the outstanding contributions of CEOs, entrepreneurs and business leaders who have built enterprises that have had a deep and enduring impact on the economy and the wider society.

    “As chroniclers of entrepreneurial capitalism, Forbes India has been celebrating leadership for years. FILA is a one important way we do this where we honour a set of such inspirational business leaders. Now in its sixth year, the awards celebrate those who, by their actions, have made a difference to their organisations, their employees and also to the business segments in which they operate,” said Forbes India editor Sourav Majumdar.

    The achievements of this year’s winners assume significance since many of the business leaders felicitated have braved difficult local and global economic conditions to steer their organisations towards operational excellence.

    Winners of the FILA 2016:

    Outstanding Startup for the Year
    Vijay Shekhar Sharma – Paytm

    Nextgen Entrepreneur for the Year
    Pranav Amin & Shaunak Amin – Alembic Pharmaceuticals

    Entrepreneur with Social Impact
    P Namperumalsamy – Aravind Eye Care System

    Conscious Capitalist Company for the year
    Mahindra Finance

    Best CEO – Multinational Company
    Kenichi Ayukawa – Maruti Suzuki India

    Best CEO – Public Sector
    Sutirtha Bhattacharya – Coal India

    Best CEO – Private Sector
    KBS Anand – Asian Paints

    Lifetime Achievement Award
    Yusuf K Hamied – Cipla

    Entrepreneur for the Year
    Vinita Gupta & Nilesh Gupta – Lupin

    The selection process started with an extensive research along qualitative and quantitative parameters. The long list of nominees for each category was narrowed down to a strong set of three to five nominees per category. A jury headed by Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico Ltd, examined the nominations and selected the winners.

    Other members of the jury were — AZB & Partners founder and senior partner Zia Mody, TeamLease Services co-founder and chairman Manish Sabharwal, McKinsey India managing director Noshir Kaka, KKR India managing director Sanjay Nayar, and Omidyar Network partner and Omidyar Network India Advisors managing director Roopa Kudva.

    KPMG, Forbes India’s knowledge partners for the event, helped with the
    nomination process.

    Transformational leadership, which the 2016 edition of the Forbes India Leadership Awards seeks to honour, includes individuals and organisations who have achieved success through their vision, foresight, and business ethics.

  • Paytm is Forbes India’s ‘Outstanding Startup for the Year’

    Paytm is Forbes India’s ‘Outstanding Startup for the Year’

    MUMBAI: Paytm, the Noida-based e-commerce platform which would be the biggest gainers of the government decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, has pocketed the ‘Outstanding Startup for the Year’ award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards (FILA) here yesterday. India Inc’s brightest, biggest and bravest entrepreneurs were honoured at FILA.

    Lupin’s Vinita & Nilesh Gupta won Forbes India ‘Entrepreneur for the Year 2016’ award and YK Hamied was conferred the Lifetime Achievement award.

    The awards across nine categories acknowledged the outstanding contributions of CEOs, entrepreneurs and business leaders who have built enterprises that have had a deep and enduring impact on the economy and the wider society.

    “As chroniclers of entrepreneurial capitalism, Forbes India has been celebrating leadership for years. FILA is a one important way we do this where we honour a set of such inspirational business leaders. Now in its sixth year, the awards celebrate those who, by their actions, have made a difference to their organisations, their employees and also to the business segments in which they operate,” said Forbes India editor Sourav Majumdar.

    The achievements of this year’s winners assume significance since many of the business leaders felicitated have braved difficult local and global economic conditions to steer their organisations towards operational excellence.

    Winners of the FILA 2016:

    Outstanding Startup for the Year
    Vijay Shekhar Sharma – Paytm

    Nextgen Entrepreneur for the Year
    Pranav Amin & Shaunak Amin – Alembic Pharmaceuticals

    Entrepreneur with Social Impact
    P Namperumalsamy – Aravind Eye Care System

    Conscious Capitalist Company for the year
    Mahindra Finance

    Best CEO – Multinational Company
    Kenichi Ayukawa – Maruti Suzuki India

    Best CEO – Public Sector
    Sutirtha Bhattacharya – Coal India

    Best CEO – Private Sector
    KBS Anand – Asian Paints

    Lifetime Achievement Award
    Yusuf K Hamied – Cipla

    Entrepreneur for the Year
    Vinita Gupta & Nilesh Gupta – Lupin

    The selection process started with an extensive research along qualitative and quantitative parameters. The long list of nominees for each category was narrowed down to a strong set of three to five nominees per category. A jury headed by Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico Ltd, examined the nominations and selected the winners.

    Other members of the jury were — AZB & Partners founder and senior partner Zia Mody, TeamLease Services co-founder and chairman Manish Sabharwal, McKinsey India managing director Noshir Kaka, KKR India managing director Sanjay Nayar, and Omidyar Network partner and Omidyar Network India Advisors managing director Roopa Kudva.

    KPMG, Forbes India’s knowledge partners for the event, helped with the
    nomination process.

    Transformational leadership, which the 2016 edition of the Forbes India Leadership Awards seeks to honour, includes individuals and organisations who have achieved success through their vision, foresight, and business ethics.

  • Indian bus counters to go cashless with Paytm

    Indian bus counters to go cashless with Paytm

    MUMBAI: India’s largest mobile payment and commerce platform, Paytm, has enabled cashless payments in what was so far a cash-only sector, unreserved bus tickets. Ticket counter staff can now bid goodbye to the hassles of dealing with loose change and the delays associated with it.

    Travellers can now pay at inter-city bus counters with their Paytm wallets.

    With this step, Paytm has opened up the gates of convenience and commuting ease. The ticket booking process is faster, more efficient and hassle-free now. Paytm users can simply scan the Paytm QR Code and send the exact amount to book their bus tickets. The entire process is now digitized with records of transactions in a jiffy at zero transaction fee.

    Paytm VP Kiran Vasireddy said, “With this use case, Paytm has achieved a breakthrough in bringing digital payments to the unreserved bus ticketing sector. This is only a sneak peek into how the convenience of Mobile Wallets can revolutionise the transport sector. Going forward, we will enable the Paytm Wallet at various state owned as well as private operators to drive our vision of making payments cashless across India.”

    Currently bus counters operated by state transport undertakings (STUs) like Uttarakhand and Rajasthan accept Paytm. The company is actively working to forge partnerships with other state-owned and private bus operators and bring them on-board. This move is an important step in the vision of making cashless transactions a way of life across all consumer segments and demographic profiles in India.