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Tag: PayNearby

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Reaction on RBI – Digital Payment Index | PayNearby, a leading tech-led startup & largest branchless banking network of India and Sarvatra Technologies, India’s leading technology enabler to 100+ banks

Jan 21, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments #Anand Kumar Bajaj, #Digital Payment Index, #Mandar Agashe, #PayNearby

Anand Kumar, Mandar Agashe

The newly constituted RBI’s digital payment index (RBI-DPI) reported a 40% year on year jump as of September 2021, as per the RBI’s latest data of digital payments. 

  1. Sarvatra Technologies ltd., India’s leading technology enabler to 100+ banks
  2. PayNearby, India’s leading branchless banking and digital payments

Mr. Mandar Agashe, Vice-Chairman & MD, Sarvatra Technologies ltd. 

“Indian government created various platforms to help Indian citizens to transact digitally. As the payment methods were fast and convenient, Indian customers adopted them in a very big way which resulted in the acceleration of digital payments. The recent statistics from the RBI show that the Indian government’s efforts to promote the adoption of digital payment methods across the country are paying off. Large commercial banks, small finance banks, cooperative banks, and new-age fintech companies in semi-urban and rural areas have contributed significantly to expanding the reach of digital payments. With banks and several FinTech startups developing novel tech solutions to address citizens’ financial problems, this growth has been relatively balanced. Penetration of micro-ATMs, AePS, and PoS in rural India, constituting 65% of the country’s population, has also played a crucial role in driving digital payments. We expect the government will continue to take positive measures to deepen the penetration of digital payment methods such as micro-ATM, UPI, AePS, and others, bringing the dream of a ‘Digital India’ closer. Additionally, innovative payment methods such as offline payment, tap, and pay, etc., are set for implementation is helping India outpace the global markets in digital transactions.”

Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby

“Today, digital payments market is significantly robust. The effect has been seen throughout the pandemic. While the lockdown restrictions during the first wave initiated the masses to transact via digital platforms, the second wave demonstrated the impact of behavioural shift among those who embraced contactless payments such as Tap-n-Pay, UPI/QR, Cards etc. With the big and small traders actively accepting digital payments, it has propelled the growth of digital transactions in the country. Now, consumers seek convenience in paying digitally even for small-value transactions such as vegetable, snacks and groceries, resulting in a sharp rise in offline merchant payment with QR/wallet/Cards.

Furthermore, the joint initiatives of the government and regulator have also contributed to the fast displacement of cash transactions in favour of digital. Way forward with Committee on Deepening of Digital Payments (CDDP), Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), and Regulatory Sandbox (RS), FinTech Department have a more promising future. With the economy opening up and improved consumer sentiments, we expect the growth momentum to build hereon.

At PayNearby, our focus is to make digital payments form-factor agnostic and be readily available at every corner store in Bharat so that no citizen remains underserved. We hope to bring a financially underserved and digitally-oblivious population into the mainstream. We are honoured to be partnering with Bharat in this incredible digital growth story. Zidd aage badhne ki!”

Anand Kumar and Bhavin Patel (1)
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Pre- Budget 2022-23 Expectations: Quotes from PayNearby, a leading tech-led startup & largest branchless banking network of India and, LenDenClub, a leading fintech & P2P lending platform

Jan 18, 2022 by Gouri 0 Comments #Anand Kumar Bajaj, #Bhavin Patel, #Fintech, #LenDenClub, #PayNearby, #Quotes

Mr. Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby

The digital payments space has proved its mettle as a stable growth avenue during the pandemic. A positive impact was seen on digital payments due to benign taxation for self-service digital customers. To ensure the same benefits reach the less-savvy citizens, our government could waive GST and TDS for financial inclusion services at Business Correspondent (BC) outlets across India. A GST and TDS waiver will help reduce the cost of offering seamless financial services and help high-end tech reach the technology-oblivious segment. We stand with the government’s intent of taking digitization to the last mile and passing the GST waiver benefit to ‌end-users as this will push for greater financial inclusion and a digital economy in the country.

Moreover,  low-income citizens are mostly catered to by low-earning retailers who barely cross the value of taxable income, and hence, do not file IT returns to claim a refund of TDS. Thus, TDS is only a cost to them and not a refundable deduction because they do not know how to take a refund by filing returns. We sincerely hope that TDS for income below ₹ 50,000 a year can be waived off. We are positive that this Budget will consider the grim working condition of the BC network and make the needful regulatory changes to ensure the viability of a community that has been vital in driving the cause of financial inclusion and democratization of digital payments in the country.

Mr. Bhavin Patel, Co-founder & CEO, LenDenClub

The economy is projected to gradually return to its previous trajectory, with fiscal priorities in the upcoming budget invigorating it. A regulatory body to oversee payment recovery is the need of the hour. An enhanced procedural aid to the legal recovery of repayments from digital borrowers to further protect the rights of those who lend money. Such a specialized government vehicle to oversee fintech could not only help startups run more effectively, following compliance requirements, but it would eliminate possible fraudsters.

Returns from investments in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending could be exempted from tax under Section 80C of Income Tax law, or a different provision could be carved out to reduce tax rates such as tax exemption for gains below Rs 20,000. This will encourage people across geographies to invest in P2P lending, making funds accessible on multiple platforms. P2P lending plays a significant role in empowering small businesses in India. Tax benefits in P2P lending will magnify the growth of businesses when capital from P2P platforms is diverted to the sector.

The pandemic has resulted in significant job losses, primarily due to people’s inability to keep up with evolving technology. The way the government is spreading awareness is remarkable. Further to that, setting up avenues for advanced technical education, for instance, could help it drive so much further. Presently, India requires professionals with technical and financial competence to conduct the Fintech revolution. More institutions that provide formal education and certifications are needed to create a skilled group of individuals required to grow P2P lending platforms and the Fintech industry.