Cashback, the sweet sounding term for millions of ecommerce customers across the globe is indeed a very powerful, enticing feature which never fails as a strategy. Paytm is one of those m-commerce portals/digital wallets which brilliantly used the power of cashback to propagate their usage, and customers lapped them up like hot cakes.
Until now, Paytm had never ever revealed how much cashback they doled out for their customers; but not anymore.
During the just concluded India Digital Summit conducted by IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India), Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma gave a passionate, interesting and mind-blowing presentation on the ‘Technology Giving Leap To Financial Inclusion’ topic, and in that, he shared the amount of cashback which Paytm rolled out last year.
This figure has never been shared earlier.
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Rs 588 crore: Cashback Which Paytm Gave Away Last Year
Vijay shared that Paytm has given away Rs 588 crore of cashback to their customers in 2015.
This number holds much significance, considering the fact that Paytm churned out revenues of Rs 337 crore during 2014-15, with a loss of Rs 372 crore!
Hence, Paytm gave more cashback, compared to the revenues generated. And this is indeed an interesting case study to understand the growth of ecommerce in India.
The Future of Paytm & Digital Payments
During the presentation, Vijay gave us a glimpse of the future which he and his company have envisioned when it comes to digital payments.
As he shared, Paytm is aiming to become the Paypal of digital payments – In US, the term “Paypal me money” is now a legend, as users can simply use the email id associated with one’s Paypal account to transfer the money.
Similarly, Paytm is aiming to make their term “#Paytm Karo” as legendary, targeting the mobile number as the fulcrum of the whole process. And guess what, #paytmKaro is already a trending term in social media.
As soon as Paytm’s Payment Bank is launched, this digital push will receive a new energy, a new momentum; and the results would be a fascinating case study for ecommerce companies.
Paytm Bar Would Be Everywhere
As per Vijay, Paytm has envisioned a scenario, wherein every merchant/trader/shop-keeper/service provider shall have a ‘Paytm bar’ stuck at their premises. Say you are traveling in an auto, and when the journey finishes, the you just need to scan this Paytm code (which can be pasted anywhere in the auto), and the amount would be automatically deducted from your Paytm account.
Working almost like a barcode reader, this is indeed a revolutionary vision.
Besides, Paytm’s new Payment Bank would bring ATM to every customer’s doorstep. When a customer would need to withdraw money, he can do it at any shop where Payment Bank has been provisioned or he can also ask the ATM to come to his home and they will deliver the cash!
During the presentation, he also shared that if one wants to experience the advancements in mobile centric financial innovations, then they need to look ‘East’, not ‘West’. He meant that China and East Asian countries are far more advanced in this eco-system, compared to US/Europe.
And, he also shared that the mobile phone he was using was bought at Snapdeal (because the price of that handset was cheapest on Snapdeal that day!)
Paytm & Net Neutrality
Once the presentation was finished, and the house was thrown open for questions, I raised my hand, and was presented the mike. The very first thing I said was: “Thank you for supporting Net Neutrality and for ensuring freedom of Internet in India”.
Vijay humbly credited the achievements of protecting Net Neutrality in India TRAI’s chairman RS Sharma, and then, the ballroom at Hotel Lalit gave a standing applause to both RS Sharma and Vijay, and the moment was indeed magical.
a) A Government official was applauded, appreciated for something which he could have avoided doing (like most Govt. officials do..)
b) A multi billionaire digital entrepreneur openly acknowledging the fact that Freedom of Internet is necessary in India. And, NOT taking the credit for the same!
Once again, special thanks to all entrepreneurs, media personals, forums and the community which helped to protect the freedom of Internet in India. And, thanks to TRAI and Indian Govt. for understanding the importance of this movement.