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

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Underlining its digital-first approach, Paytm, India’s largest mobile payments and commerce platform, has announced the launch of its ambitious pilot project to enable seamless internet connectivity for users. Under this initiative, Paytm is enabling limited-duration free Wi-Fi for its users in partnership with a licensed ISP.  The first such Wi-Fi initiative is already underway near the Noida-18 metro station in partnership with a licensed ISP.

Paytm’s latest move is set to delight its consumers as well as the merchants partnering with its platform, as they will be able to use the free Wi-Fi to access any internet-based service or website. The free service will be available for 15 minutes every day per user.

Speaking on the announcement, Kumar Aditya, Vice President, Paytm, said, “While most people today are aware of the benefits of the internet, they generally are hesitant to use their internet packs owing to several factors such as high costs and increasing data burden. We, at Paytm, believe that the lack of proper internet connectivity should not prevent our users from doing what they want to do. This is why we have launched our pilot Wi-Fi project. We want to ensure that our consumers get the best user experience without being inconvenienced by internet connectivity hassles.”

An on-ground team has also been constituted by Paytm to educate potential users such as auto rickshaw drivers and nearby vendors on how to utilize the Wi-Fi connection and mobile wallet to conveniently transact online. For example, an auto rickshaw driver can collect any payment from a Paytm user without needing to tender the exact change, while a vendor might be able to utilize the wallet as a POS machine without needing to separately invest in the usual requirements for one, such as a landline.