Brief

PayMate forays into retail

Ajay Adiseshan of Playmate

PayMate India, a M-commerce solutions company, is targeting offline merchant sign-ups which include large chains to stand-alone retail establishments. SMS has been the platform of choice for online and remote payments so far but the company has now introduced a voice-based module keeping in mind the unique requirements of the retail industry. To begin with this solution will be implemented by Future Bazaar, CRS Health, Gold Cabs and Planet M in the coming weeks.

Speaking about the company’s growth plans in 2007, Ajay Adiseshan, Founder and MD, PayMate said “We have achieved significant success in the online space and we now have the opportunity and challenge to make PayMate available on the shop floor as well. There is no doubt that a genuine user will benefit from the convenience and security that PayMate offers so we hope to implement our solution at a rapid pace in the offline category as well. We are expanding our merchant base rapidly and are making sure we reach out to our stakeholders, both consumers and merchants, in as many ways as possible enabling ease of use.”

PayMate will offer its merchants options of several transaction interfaces depending upon the facilities available at the point of sale. These include an Internet browser, any mobile handset, any landline phone or a PayMate EDC machine. Irrespective of the interface a merchant will have real-time access to the transaction log and reports at any given point.

In addition to implementing PayMate online, Future Bazaar will also use PayMate to facilitate a ‘SMS-to-buy’ platform wherein all the customers have to do is send an SMS to buy a product instead of walking into a store or logging onto a Web site. Commenting on the tie-up Sankarson Banerjee, CEO, Future Bazaar, said “In our business of virtual retailing, the mobile phone is a powerful device to connect with customers. PayMate lets customers use their mobile phones to pay securely from anywhere without divulging their card details.”

Gold Cabs which has recently launched ‘Dial-a-Cab’ in Mumbai will now allow passengers to pay via PayMate. “Convenience lies at the core of our offering and PayMate offers an ideal solution for drivers and the customer with no need to carry cash or struggle for change. We are proud to be among the first few globally along with Japan and Thailand to implement mobile payments for taxi fares,” says Shilpa Athavale, MD, Gold Cabs, which plans to grow its fleet to 200 vehicles by next month. Talking about over-the-counter and home delivery type operations, Rahul Chahdha, Director, CRS Health says “It offers a great payment solution for our DTH services which is currently limited to cash pick-up by the delivery boy. It also offers added security and convenience to customers paying in-store. While this may take some time to become really popular, we would like to be partners in driving this growth and be the early ones to offer this service to our customers.”

PayMate is currently being offered to Citibank bank credit card and banking customers and will roll out services with other leading banks shortly. To use PayMate, Citibank customers need to sign up for this service free with the bank by sending ‘PAYMATE’ as an SMS to 2484. The customer will then be called back and registered for the service following which they can conveniently pay at any of PayMate’s accredited merchants via SMS.

On receiving this SMS, the bank will verify the user’s mobile number with the account and on confirmation will debit the account accordingly. The merchant and the customer will receive a confirmation from the bank approving the transaction. The entire transaction takes place at the cost of a single premium SMS.

PayMate will shortly be available on several Web sites including travel and hospitality, consumer products, matrimony, jobs, apparels, astrology, gifts, NGOs etc. The company is also in the process of tying up with several offline merchants such as telcos, utilities, insurance companies, cable and broadband services, tele-shopping etc and will be announcing its tie-ups in a phased manner.

PayMate offers a secure payment solution as no credit or debit card information is ever disclosed during the transaction process. The trust model is based on the recommendations by Ernst & Young; which provides the security measures for both the bank as well as the customer.