The digital payment platform has applied for its license to operate within the Indian marketplace.
PayPal mobile wallet will soon be available to Indian consumers and merchants as the global online payments giant applies for its license to operate in the country. This follows closely on the heels of Amazon’s similar entry into that massive market.
The American company has applied to the country for a prepaid payment instrument (PPI).
This would place PayPal mobile wallet in a market where these types of payments are suddenly taking off. It is being seen as an extremely attractive investment for mobile payment services from other countries around the world. As a result, the mergers, acquisitions and investments from foreign players have been constant.
In April, Amazon made a similar filing and was able to obtain its PPI license within the country through the federal bank. This gave the massive online marketplace the opportunity to operate its Amazon Pay services in India.
The PayPal mobile wallet will also reportedly face competition from other international players like WhatsApp.
Reportedly, WhatsApp is considering the launch of its own mobile payments service in India, which is the largest market on the planet. While there is still room within that market, it’s clear that large global players are interested in diving in early. It’s also more than likely that they will be ready for fierce competition to dominate in that valuable space.
Existing mobile payments services in India already include Mobikwik and PhonePe, which is owned by Flipkart, the largest retailer in the country. Another offering called Jio Money recently launched. That company is owned by the richest man in India. Freecharge is also currently an option, though it is expected to be integrated into Paytm before long. The latter of those two companies is currently a major player within that market and acted quickly to make a name for itself during the country’s recent cash crisis. More mobile wallets in India include those owned by the Airtel and Vodafone telecom carriers.
The last six months have proved to foreign companies such as the PayPal mobile wallet that India offers an unprecedented opportunity. It was during this time that the Indian government quite suddenly decided to reduce its cash usage by eliminating certain higher-value currency notes. This reduced the country’s cash in circulation by an estimated 86 percent, forcing consumers and merchants to scramble for an alternative nearly overnight.