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Private sector Axis Bank is working to expand its payments network by acquiring more merchants and expanding its PoS terminals to newer cities.
“We are big in terms of distribution and servicing of PoS terminals across the country; a lot of merchants are new to the segment, and we are providing all payment services on a single terminal, UniPOS. We have also added an on-the-spot EMI option that merchants can offer to Axis Bank customers through our terminals,” said Sanjeev Moghe, Executive Vice-President, Head - Card and MAB, Axis Bank.
As of October 2018, Axis Bank has deployed over five lakh PoS terminals across the country and has over 3.7 lakh merchants.
According to Moghe, the lender has the second-largest number of terminals across banks in terms of installation and service, and is the largest among private banks.
Axis Bank is also extending the payment infrastructure to smaller towns with almost a fourth of all new PoS terminals being installed in Tier 2 and 3 towns. Further, almost a third of the terminals installed are for businesses that are new to the segment and without a PoS terminal.
The lender has also launched UniPOS payment terminal, which accepts payments via credit and debit cards, Bharat QR, UPI and Freecharge Wallet. Over 7,000 EDC terminals have been upgraded to be UniPOS-ready at no extra cost to the merchants, and Axis Bank plans to roll out over a lakh such terminals by the end of the fiscal year.
“Almost everyone has a debit or credit card now, thanks to schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and people are using their debit cards. The problem comes up when the merchant does not offer a PoS terminal,” said Moghe.
With no MDR on transactions up to ₹2,000, Moghe said that more merchants are accepting debit card payments.
Meanwhile, the bank is also tying up with utility providers such as NDMC and BSES Rajdhani for bill payments. For instance, on NDMC bills, there is an Axis Bank QR code, which the customer can scan to pay the bill immediately.
“The idea is to get customers hooked on to digital payments for more things. A lot of discussions are underway for utility payments. The idea is to make it easier for customers to pay,” Moghe said.
Axis Bank currently has 2.2 debit card holders and 50 lakh credit card holders.
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