On 10th August 2020, digital payments company Paytm announced a pocket-sized point-of-sale (PoS) device focusing on small and medium enterprises (SME) to accept orders and payments on the go.
Paytm, which is currently available in 11 Indian languages, is an Indian e-commerce payment system and financial technology company, centered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, The company offers online use-cases like mobile recharges, utility bill payments, movies, travel, and events bookings as well as in-store payments at grocery stores, fruits and vegetable shops, restaurants, parking, pharmacies, tolls, and educational institutions with the Paytm QR code.
Paytm received a license from Reserve Bank of India to launch the payments bank in August 2015. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of the1` Paytm Payments Bank.
Paytm’s pocket-sized point-of-sale is enabled with integrated billing software, camera for QR scanning, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-based connectivity, etc. Vijay Shekhar Sharma mentioned that the device is the first such Android-based device to be introduced in India. Paytm would charge Rs 499 as an introductory monthly rental for the device which is much more powerful than the portable Linux based POS devices.
Even though the device is offered at the lowest price in the market, Paytm stated that it would invest Rs 100 crore on marketing and distribution of the device in FY21 to help SMEs, restaurants, takeaway joints, kiranas, etc. with contactless ordering and payments. The company added that it has targeted to deliver more than 2 lakh devices in the next few months that will generate more than 20 million monthly transactions.
The device is also integrated with the ‘Paytm for Business’ app. It is used to generate GST compliant bills and manage transactions and payments. Renu Satti, Sr. Vice President, Paytm, mentioned that it is an attempt to help merchants & traders to easily digitize their business operations, without any investment in technology or backend infrastructure.
Encouraging small businesses has been perhaps the top priority for e-commerce and payments firms to push growth amid the Covid19 pandemic. Amazon and Flipkart have been focusing on inducting small businesses to enable their recovery post-Covid19, Paytm has also taken steps to attract small businesses such as Kirana stores. During May, the company announced a Rs 100 crore loyalty program for such stores to cover up losses due to transaction charges. Businesses paid a 1 percent merchant discount rate for transferring payment received on Paytm wallet to their bank accounts. The fund has been aimed to help small businesses with different marketing tools, access to financial services, and encourage them towards digital payments.
