Social Media Payments

Payments through social media platforms in the form of social coupons are rising. There are multiple applications which have come up and are utilizing the power of mobile, peer-to-peer, and other online purchase mechanisms to drive payments across social media platforms. Paypal’s Venmo is one of the leaders in this area which is encouraging banks and credit unions in the US to use social engagement for digital peer-to-peer payments.

Apart from the above emerging payment solution areas, other options which are gaining currency include:

• Digital kiosks: Companies are setting up service kiosks which are fixed stations with phone connections, where the customer can make payments using a digital screen and keyboard to make transactions.
• TV set-top boxes: The future of media involves payments not only though mobile but also across the IOT (Internet of things) ecosystem where smart internet-enabled TVs are the best example.
• Biometric payments: These are fingerprint-based payments which have just started getting traction and could become a very secure form of payment transactions in future.

With an understanding of key emerging digital payment solutions type, let us now look at some of the major digital payment gateways in India for e-commerce ventures:

1. PayZippy: Launched by Flipkart, it is a Payment Gateway Service for Indian merchants which helps with online and mobile payments without typing the card number, expiry date, name, or billing address, once the details have already been saved with PayZippy.
2. PayU India: It is a part of Naspers, a $ 25 billion parent, which globally is one of the largest consumer payment processor and provides multiple payment offerings in the form of risk management system, multi-currency gateway, mobile-optimized payment page, IVR payment, store card feature, and payment analytics.
3. CC avenue: It is one of the biggest payment solution providers in India as nearly 85 per cent of Indian e-commerce merchants are utilizing their services. Its key features include 100+ payment options, multiple currency processing, retry option, customization, audit and analytics, etc.
4. Citrus Pay: One of the younger ventures, Citrus Pay’s aim has been to simplify online payment and make it quick and effective while following all safety protocols.
5. DirecPay: Part of the TimesGroup, Direcpay provides strong security features. Their security system is PCI-DSS certified and Norton Secure and they offer easy integration, registration, and flexible payment process.

Apart from these, with the recent demonetization drive by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mobile wallets have seen a huge surge in activity and transactions. Key among them include:

1. Paytm: By registering with Paytm service, any digital business can integrate their website with this payment gateway. It allows payments only from Paytm wallet unlike other traditional payment gateways.
2. MobiKwik: As in the case of Paytm, merchants can accept money only through MobiKwik wallet. In 2015, over 25 million users had a MobiKwik account and 650+ merchants were using its payment gateway service.
3. Oxigen Wallet: It is India’s first RBI-approved non-bank wallet which provides instant money transfer to 60+ banks and has been in operation since 2004.

The top global emerging players include examples like Kounta (a scalable digital POS solution which works like a cash register and can be securely accessed from across a range of channels including in-store, online, and mobile), Pin Payments (which eliminates merchant accounts to help small businesses sell to international customers), Braintree (which provides next-generation payment capabilities such as one-touch purchasing, mobile payments, and foreign currency acceptance), among others. With the emergence of digital technologies and higher security demands from customers, we would see a surge in emerging payment players in the near future.