Spice Money: Industry Monitoring 27 February 2019
- Priyanka Kanodia
- Mar 6, 2019
- 4 min read
Spice Money
Industry News
RBI extends wallets' KYC compliance deadline by 6 months
Publication- Medianama
Edition- Online
Date- 27 February, 2019
The RBI has given wallets another 6 months to comply with KYC requirements, extending from the earlier deadline of February 28, 2019. The RBI said that the extension was granted “based on requests received from various stakeholders” given that alternative systems had to be figured out to replace Aadhaar e-KYC. Around 70-80% of the wallet user base is yet to comply with KYC norms, the Times of India reported. Mobile wallets were banking on Aadhaar for e-KYC, but were barred from doing so after the Supreme Court ruling on the Aadhaar matter struck down Section 57 which allowed the private usage of Aadhaar.
Earlier in February, industry body Digital India Collective for Empowerment (DICE) and Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) approached the RBI with alternatives to Aadhaar eKYC. DICE’s recommendations include a request for regulatory approval from the RBI and Finance Ministry for video verification as a form of digital KYC. DICE’s signatories included BankBazaar, SBI Cards and Payments Services, Eko India Financial Services. The 55-member DLAI had also emphasized on the affordability of digital eKYC, and how it reduced cost for disbursing small and short-term loans.
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Mobile wallets get 6 months to find a digital KYC route
Publication- The Economic Times
Edition- Online
Date- 27 February, 2019
Mobile wallet companies breathed a sigh of relief with the Reserve Bank of India extending the deadline for full KYC by six months. Industry executives, however, pointed out the need for alternative digital channels, instead of collecting paper documents. After a Supreme Court ruling on privacy violation stopped the Aadhaarbased electronic KYC, mobile wallet companies had to resort to paper-based KYC. If collecting paper documents from customers is an expensive proposition, then managing those documents is also a challenge.
With the RBI saying on Monday that the extension could be used for putting in place alternative systems of completing the KYC process, the industry hopes new digitised KYC process would replace paper KYC. “The extension opens up possibilities of alternative digital KYC mechanisms like QR code-based KYC or video KYC, which can make the customer verification process simpler,” said Sunil Kulkarni, joint managing director at Oxigen Services India, which operates as a mobile wallet and digital payments company.
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JioPhone is popular but why? Here are 5 features that help this smart feature phone find favour with Indians
Publication- India Today
Edition- Online
Date- 27 February, 2019
Reliance Jio launched the first JioPhone in 2017 and the dynamics of feature phone market have changed since then. We won't call it a disruption like all the other moves of the company. Jio's advent in the feature phone segment should rather be seen as a much-needed jolt to the feature phone industry which was dormant until the JioPhone arrived. Even though the smartphone industry is growing and we see technologically superior phones every day, feature phones have their own sizeable user base in India. People especially living in tier II, tier III cities and rural areas are still on feature phones as they have very basic requirements from their phones.
These are - it should be able to make calls, send SMS, should have a radio, torch, and life is sorted. Sadly, there was not much innovation being done in feature phones until the JioPhone happened. JioPhone brought a breath of fresh air, not in terms of design may be but sure with its features and not-to-forget the price. A 2015 Counterpoint research data showed that the feature phone sales in India had been falling that year. Feature phone makers had stopped innovating or even attempting at something unique for the feature phones. Jio changed this and brought in a competition in this industry.
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The Payment Industry Ecosystem: The trend towards digital payments and key players moving markets
Publication- Business Insider
Edition- Online
Date- 27 February, 2019
The digitization of daily life is making phones and connected devices the preferred payment tools for consumers - preferences that are causing digital payment volume to blossom worldwide. As noncash payment volume accelerates, the power dynamics of the payments industry are shifting further in favor of digital and omnichannel providers, attracting a wide swath of providers to the space and forcing firms to diversify, collaborate, or consolidate in order to capitalize on a growing revenue opportunity.
More and more, consumers want fast and simple payments - that's opening up opportunities for providers. Rising e- and m-commerce, surges in mobile P2P, and increasing willingness among customers in developed countries to try new transaction channels, like mobile in-store payments, voice and chatbot payments, or connected device payments are all increasing transaction touchpoints for providers. This growing access is helping payments become seamless, in turn allowing firms to boost adoption, build and strengthen relationships, offer more services, and increase usage.
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PhonePe to be payment option at Walmart India’s B2B Cash & Carry stores
Publication- FB News
Edition- Online
Date- 27 February, 2019
Walmart India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart Inc, and PhonePe, one of India’s fastest-growing payment platforms, have entered a partnership to launch PhonePe as a payment option at Walmart India’s 23 Best Price modern wholesale (B2B cash-and-carry) stores. PhonePe is part of the Flipkart Group, in which Walmart has a majority stake. Under the new collaboration, registered members of Walmart India’s Best Price Stores across the country will now be able to pay for their purchases via the PhonePe app on their mobile phone, drawing on funds from a bank account using the secure Unified Payments Interface (UPI) or from a PhonePe wallet, third-party wallet, credit card or debit card.
Registered members will be able to make payments with PhonePe in store, as well as via the Best Price online platform and assisted-ordering solutions. With over one million Best Price members (mainly kiranas) now being introduced to PhonePe’s digital payments, the company is accelerating its push to drive offline transaction traffic as the next step for the adoption of digital payments in India. PhonePe recently surpassed one million offline merchants on its platform following partnerships with major retail chains across India. The cooperation with Walmart India is set to accelerate PhonePe adoption by kiranas and other small businesses, and help introduce them to digital payments.
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