Paytm, which has been in the news for spearheading a kind of movement against Google in the Android app store arena, today announced that it is launching its own credit cards "to make it easy for new users to join the credit market."
As the company put it, the new credit card is designed to “democratise the access to a formal credit system for the masses”. It is set to tie up with leading banks in the country, and its aim is to issue two million cards in the next 12-18 months.
The digital payments company said that it will be a co-branded credit card in partnership with card issuers in India.
Paytm said its card would allow users to manage their transactions and have full control over the card usage.
- PayTM and PayTM First Games apps disappear from Play Store
- WhatsApp Pay looks up to court as time runs out for its rollout
- More than 6.1 billion people will use digital payments by 2023
How and where to apply for the Paytm card?
“In our country, credit cards are still considered a product for the affluent sections of the society and not everyone can avail of its benefits. At Paytm, our aim is to provide credit cards that benefit India’s aspiring youth and evolved professionals. These cards are designed to help them lead a healthier financial life through managing and analysing the spends to make well-informed decisions," Bhavesh Gupta, CEO of Paytm Lending, said.
Paytm will provide a digitised experience for the credit card application process as well. Users can get the process done on the Paytm app itself, and pick their preferred timings for document collection.
Paytm credit cards will come with a reward system with an assured cashback on every transaction. These points don’t have an expiration date, and can be used for payments for services offered by Paytm.
Paytm card filled with safety features
In a press release, Paytm said the credit card will be equipped with instant one-touch services such as change of the security pin number, updating the address, blocking the card in case of loss or fraud prevention, issuance of a duplicate card and viewing outstanding credit-limit.
Further, Paytm card will also have options to safeguard users against fraud by switching off the card for contactless payments or international transactions when not required.
Most interestingly, the credit card will provide insurance protection against fraudulent transactions.
In addition to this, Paytm will also include a personalised spending analyser to help the customers in assessing expenses and planning their expenses more adroitly.
Hopes for 10% of the market
Paytm has an estimated customer base of 150-200 million and it hopes to issue nearly 2 million credit cards in the next 12-18 months.
Paytm hopes to capture at least 10% of the credit card market which it claims as ‘largely untapped’.
This is not Paytm's first foray into the segment. It may be recalled that last year, Paytm First Credit Card in partnership with Citibank, powered by VISA Payment service, was launched. The card offers 1% unlimited cashback.
Paytm's rival Amazon Pay has a co-branded credit card with ICICI Bank,
Walmart that owns Flipkart and Snapdeal have co-branded credit cards with HDFC Bank as well.
- PlayStation 5 price in India officially confirmed; no release date yet though
