Paytm invests 25 billion rupees to promote scanning QR payment in fourth and fifth tier cities and towns in India

According to the economic times of India, on June 12, Paytm announced that it will invest 25 billion rupees ($36 million) to extend Paytm QR code (QR code) payment system to four and five tier cities and towns in India. Paytm expects to reach more than 20 million merchants across India by the end of the fiscal year.

Paytm has been actively promoting QR codes to enable all merchants to deposit money directly into their bank accounts. “More than 12 million merchants nationwide are already using Paytm QR codes to collect money,” said Deepak Abbot, Paytm’s senior vice president. But most of them are in big cities. Our goal is to reach merchants in the smallest towns across India, such as Ajmer, Bekgaon, Kurnool, Rohtak and Latur. “

In November 2018, Paytm said the platform had 9.8 million offline merchants, of whom 6 million received payments from UPI, the unified payment interface launched by the national payment corporation of India.




It costs at least three to four times more to host a small-town businessman than it does in a big city. Paytm, however, is trying to reach at least 60 percent of these four- and five-line towns.

 Deepak Abbot, senior vice President of Paytm, said, “in the long run, we hope to reach 260,000 to 300,000 merchants in every corner of the country. As we work to increase financial inclusion in the most remote parts of the country, Paytm QR code payments accepts all digital payment tools, such as UPI, e-wallet, credit, debit and online banking. “



The reason why Paytm vigorously promotes the QR code payment function is not only because of the convenience of QR code payment, but also because of the fierce market competition. Unlike credit or debit CARDS, which require swiping a card and entering a password, QR code payments can be completed in a timely manner using a mobile phone scan. And using Paytm QR codes to transfer money without paying fees has become a big tool for the platform to attract merchants and users.

In addition, Paytm’s ability to promote qr code payment is also related to the increasing smartphone penetration rate in the Indian market. China’s alibaba and its ant financial are also investors in Paytm. So it’s not surprising that Paytm will imitate Alipay to promote QR codes.

More recently, Paytm said it had achieved more than $50 billion in total transactions (GTV) and 5.5 billion deals in fiscal 2019. According to Paytm, this growth is due to Paytm’s diverse online and offline digital payment solutions, including retail payments, living expenses, utility payments, travel reservations, entertainment, games, etc.

Paytm, meanwhile, aims to double its growth this year and complete 12 billion deals by the end of fiscal 2020. Paytm revealed in 2018 that it had made significant progress in rural areas, with users in 300,000 villages.