NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, January 27, 2017

New Delhi: Online payment service providers and mobile wallet companies have recorded a huge surge in queries and sign-ups from various governmental departments across sectors such as education, health and power, in the last two months.

The tie-ups come at a time when these departments have been instructed to carry a majority of their transactions through digital modes to eliminate corruption and reduce the dependence on cash.

“We have received numerous queries from government bodies for our digital payment solution in the last two months. Since the shortage of cash put the economy to a standstill, our solutions allows the users to take monetary transactions online and ensure that their business continues,” said Shailaz Nag, co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) of PayU India, in a statement.

PayU India is a digital payments provider owned by South Africa’s Naspers Group.

The company said the government departments that have already tied up with it include e-Mitra, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Punjab State Power Corp., Bangalore Electricity Supply Co. Ltd (BESCOM), Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corp. (KSTDC), HP Subordinate Services Selection Board, West Bengal Tourism Development Corp. Ltd, National Highways Authority of India, Delhi Jal Board, Noida Special Economic Zone Authority, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).