Naspers-backed global payment group PayU is witnessing a 200 per cent spike in queries coming from government and educational institutes on a daily basis post Indian Government's push towards a cashless economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been campaigning for cashless economy since day one and his initiative "Digital India" has suddenly got a major boost post demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 old currency notes.
Shailaz Nag, COO, PayU India told Business Line that the demonetisation drive has in a way forced several government and educational bodies to adopt newer means of digital payment methods.
"We are getting about 2000 queries on a daily basis from various colleges, schools, SMEs and several key governmental accounts from smaller cities. They are showing huge interest in a tie up with PayU to streamline digital payments. It shows that people are eager and interested to make digital payments but are not sure how to. Many have asked us to help educate their employees also," Nag said adding the conversion rate has also gone up. Earlier, it used to take at least 6-7 meetings to onboard a vendor but after demonetisation businesses are getting convinced in just one meeting, Nag added.
PayU has also tied up with NITI Aayog to educate these institutions on making digital payments. It is soon going live with a programme on UPI (unified payment interface) education too.
PayU India has been actively rooting for the cause of cashless economy and spreading awareness amongst the merchants and consumers alike. With its unique and innovative products like PayUmoney Seller App and Sellfie, Pay U India has enabled a range of merchants and businesses ride on the digital wave within 2 minutes. Post demonetisation, PayU has seen a 250 per cent increase in app download with transaction volumes going up by 85 per cent.
The company has lately been working towards strengthening its position in the rapidly growing fintech sector in India, that is likely to get major boost as the Government is looking at incentivising the payments or transactions done digitally.
In September this year, PayU, owned by the South African Internet conglomerate Naspers, acquired Mumbai-based rival Citrus Pay for Rs 860 crore in one of the largest takeover deals in India’s nascent but rapidly growing fintech sector that is all set to get an additional boost with Government's 'Go Digital, Go Cashless' initiative.
The digital payments company has until now onboarded with several governmental bodies, hailing from diverse sections, such as education, health, ticketing and more. Some of these organizations include E-Mitra, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Punjab State Power Corporation, BESCOM, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited. Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Food Safety & Standards authority of India (FSSAI), and National institute of Fashion Technology among several others.