PayPal on Wednesday announced the launch of its India operations, with the company confirming that it’s now offering domestic payments in the South Asian country. Consumers looking to shop online will hence be able to pay for any goods and services they order from eligible Indian companies using PayPal, with the announcement of the platform’s expanded availability coming exactly a year after New Delhi implemented a major demonetization that left the country’s economy short of some popular banknotes. PayPal has already been operating in India for over a decade, offering cross-borders payments to consumers in the country, with the digital payment platform now seeking to become more involved with the local economy.
Thomas Cook, Yatra, MakeMyTrip, BookMyShow, and PVR are some of the online retailers that are already accepting domestic payments via PayPal, with many more being set to join the growing digital ecosystem over the coming weeks. The platform is described as still being in an experimental stage of development as PayPal is presently in the process of optimizing it on a frequent basis, which is also the main reason why not all retailers in India are able to use it. The full-fledged launch of the service is set for January when every company will be able to start accepting domestic payments via PayPal, the local branch of the San Jose, California-based firm said. The streamlined One Touch payments feature is part of the platform’s domestic package, as is its existing framework for dispute resolution, Buyer and Seller Protection, and a robust refund program.
The move is meant to diversify PayPal’s portfolio in India which remains largely focused on foreign business-to-consumer payments, with the company claiming that it presently holds a third of such transactions. PayPal’s customer support center in India will now also manage any queries and requests related to the firm’s domestic payments platform, with the operation offering support in numerous languages. India remains a highly attractive market for providers of digital payments services, largely as a result of its 2016 demonetization. Apart from online shopping solutions, mobile platforms like Samsung Pay are also presently enjoying strong growth in the country.