PayUmoney, an online payments solution, claims to be the number one player in the e-commerce category and the second-largest in the overall payments industry. In an interview with BusinessLine , Paritosh Sharma, Head, Channel Partnerships at PayUmoney, spoke about the payments market and the need to simplify it, the company’s move to reduce discounts and strategy for growth.

How do you see the online payments market taking shape in India?

There is a much larger part of India that is yet to come online. And the day that happens, the volumes would be huge. And it is to this end that we are working at PayUmoney.

We are looking to create value propositions for start-ups and small and medium enterprises and build their trust. The biggest problem for them (SMEs and start-ups) is trust. Getting online payment is not a problem.

So where does the payment gateway come in to build the trust or rather why would any one opt for PayUmoney and not its competitor?

Most of the payment companies want small businesses to transact online. But we have a different take. We understand that most of these small companies are yet to explore the world of internet. And that is why we have created small and simple-to-use products for them.

For example, one of our highest used products today is one called ‘e-mail invoice’. I have your e-mail id, I have a PayUmoney dashboard and I will send you a mail.

The mail will have a payment button. And you can pay through credit card, debit card or online banking. It’s that simple.

We have realised that SMEs do not need complex solutions initially. But as they evolve to the next level, we have the other set of solutions, such as wallets, gateways and so on.

But we believe that instead of confusing people with different value propositions, let’s give the simplest of products and let people start adopting them; we will handhold them till they are comfortable with the next level.

How will an end-user or the B2C segment benefit from using PayUmoney?

Today, we have close to four million transacting users on our platform.

We have over 90,000 merchants, and you get an additional 1 per cent discount (over and above what the merchant offers). So, for the end-user there are two major advantages.

Apart from the discounts, the most critical thing we offer is the buyer protection policy.

Over the last few months, payment gateways too have resorted to the discounting model. PayUmoney has, however, reduced the discounts offered in many instances. How are you going about with the discounting strategy?

Discounts have been the hallmark of the e-commerce industry in India. And we have been very critical of the fact. What PayUmoney realises is that you cannot buy loyalty. Much more than discounts, the internet user of India today prefers a great experience and trust that his transactions are secure, and money is safe.

We may have reduced discounts, but our target is to increase our merchant base to 2.5 lakh by March 2016. Our user base has also gone up. We are also adding value to all our users; and, this has worked out for us.

Hence, even the lowering of discounts has not impacted us.

But e-commerce will always have discount seekers. So, what would you do so that your four million users remain loyal despite lowering discounts?

Not just customer acquisition, retention is also important. But we at PayUmoney will not be buying loyalty with discounts. What we are ensuring is that we be present where the users are, and be with them in case they face a problem. These are the two areas we are really investing in.

We will further improve our level of service. For the end-users, or the B2C segment, what really will matter is this: they have paid via PayUmoney; their money should be secure; they get what they have paid for and finally, they know that PayUmoney is there if a problem arises.

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