After Reliance Jio and the State Bank of India now, Tata groups is also planning to build a new mass-market payments entity that would rival the existing non-profit monopoly of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Green Signal To The New Venture
The central bank has already given a nod to applications and now it can own and operate a pan India retail payments network under the same provisions of the Payments and Settlement Act of 2007.
This act permits NPCI to control the hugely successful channels such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and IMPS architecture.
So far, the Tata Group has initiated talks with the central bank and currently in the process of scouting for potential partners before formalizing a concrete business plan for the proposed entity, as per the reports.
In this plan, its Tata Capital and Tata Consultancy Services are expected to play the main role.
According to sources, “While the talks are preliminary, Tata’s are seriously considering becoming a promoter of a new payments network, and it gels well with its plans to take several of its businesses digital,”.
Super App In Picture
The move to promote a retail payment entity seems to be inline with the company’s plan to launch an integrated ‘Super App’ which will help in integrating the corporate’s massive consumer offerings to a single digital platform.
Sources said, “They have sought some clarity from the central bank on what the entity would be allowed and not allowed to do. The idea is to have a strong presence in the payments ecosystem where Tata’s rivals are gaining strong foothold through partnerships or subsidiaries,”
Considering the country’s online retail market, the new app will help in giving weight to the company in competing with the growing dominance of the likes of Reliance and Amazon.
The 152-year old conglomerate already owns an online grocery store named StarQuik, along with an ecommerce platform Tata CLiQ and online electronics platform Croma through its digital subsidiary Tata Digital.
Other Players In The Race
In the meantime, SBI and Reliance are running as the front contenders for the coveted licenses and currently they are in advanced talks with prospective partners.
SBI has already confirmed this development, while Reliance Jio is yet to come out in public with its statement.
The NUEs holds a significant role in helping the central bank with its futuristic objective of “derisking” India’s burgeoning retail payments ecosystem as NPCI dominates the space currently.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.