Bangalore-based digital payment company, PhonePe, is gearing up to enable digital payments for more than 25 million small merchants across the country in a year’s time. The Company, which is owned by Walmart, wishes to make digital payments possible even in the smaller towns and villages of the country. This endeavour will see its merchant acquisition personnel reaching out to about 5,500 taluqs in the country, providing employment opportunities to more than 10,000 people.
To make this happen, the Bengaluru-headquartered company will partner with the small shop owners and merchants in the Indian villages and towns. These traders will be added to PhonePe’s business app. These merchants will then experience a safe and controlled payment process, that offers immediate confirmation of payment, receipts and reconciliations.
“Kiranas and merchants across small villages and towns are striving to progress and prosper. We are really excited to partner with them in this journey and take digital payments to the last mile of India across every village and town. This is also in line with our brand ethos of ”Karte Ja. Badhte Ja” which reflects the role played by PhonePe in India’s progress, helping bridge the digital divide while empowering merchant partners across Bharat,” points out Vivek Lohcheb, vice president – offline business development, PhonePe.
PhonePe will offer merchant partners a personalised store page, where they can list their store timings, share product details and also promote home-delivery options. The call or chat feature offers customers a means of connecting with the store owners and pay via the app. This digitisation will only aid the growth of these small merchants.
Earlier, in June, PhonePe, had announced its intention to add 20 to 30 per cent more personnel to its 1,800-strong team. The Company had not imposed any pay cuts on its employees and had also conducted its appraisal process.
During the pandemic, the Company has witnessed a sharp increase in its app usage. It processed almost 620 million transactions in July. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments.
