The War of the Wallets

A recent hoarding at Metro Station in Delhi took commuters by surprise. The eye popping 50% cashback offer on mobile prepaid recharge was not from a usual suspect Paytm but from American online retail Amazon. Amazon Pay the digital arm of Amazon aims to make the digital payment experience seamless for customers. By launching mobile recharges, it is extending the same convenience to everyday uses for the customer.

Though Amazon might offer a simplistic view of venturing into a segment where Paytm overwhelmingly dominates, the fight for share of Indian wallets will get bloody and dirty as incumbents fire fresh salvos. The rules of the game are changing; it won’t be just survival of the fattest. As big boys flex their bulging financial muscle, the winner would be one who offers the best deal both in terms of money and experience.

The online payment landscape in India is set for exciting times. There will be a combination of innovation and offers like never before. Though Paytm has a head start, there is a long road ahead for the leader as well as other players. With less than 5% of retail payments being digital and a massive government push towards and incentives to adopt digitization, the field is wide open.

Launched in September last year, Tez – Google UPI based digital payments app claims to have 13.5 Million active users, and has processed 250 Million transactions. Tez is a made for India product, designed specifically for Indian users and is available in seven Indian languages. Amazon has also enabled cash customers to pay for their recharges online by offering a cash load service at their doorsteps. Once a customer loads cash, they can enjoy the convenience of recharging their phone online.

It’s not only Amazon and Google who are stepping on the gas. India’s biggest smartphone maker, Samsung, too has been doing its bit to push its mobile payment service – Samsung Pay. It is the only payment platform that can be used at retail outlets by tapping the phone at existing point of sale terminals. It eliminates the need to carry physical plastic in the form of credit and debit cards. As big players penetrate deeper into the market to expand their play, the fight will get intense.

The players have their work cut for them, while discounts and freebie grab early users. The last men standing will be the wallet that customers gravitate to, even after the dust raised by freebies settles. It boils down to providing not just the best experience, but answering questions about security and conflict resolution.