NEW REPORT: Doing (Payments) Business In India

You might want to keep your eye on India. 

The country is the subject of the inaugural edition of the PYMNTS.com Doing Business In report, done in collaboration with PayU, which focuses on the state of business — and doing business — around the world and what’s coming down the road ahead.

Why start with India? 

Already the seventh-largest economy in the world, the nation is undergoing big changes that promise potential for businesses. Debit and credit cards are becoming more popular, with 20 percent annual growth in card use over the past three years. Seventy-five percent of the country’s population is younger than 25, indicating that new methods of payment could become even more popular in the future. The government’s recent efforts to demonetize the country have further fueled the appetite for transacting via mobile using digital payment methods. 

There is still a way to go, however. Eighty-three percent of Indian consumers still use cash for online purchases, with most of the country still living in a cash-based economy, despite the increase in card usage. And with substantial wealth inequality (one-third of the country lives below the poverty line), even a simple sandwich from McDonald’s can be a massive expense for most of its citizens. 

What makes the Indian market so appealing for businesses who want to establish their digital foothold there?

• 66 percent of Indian adults own a mobile phone — and that number is on the rise.
• Projections predict a 20 percent annual growth in retail and eCommerce sales.
• 20 percent of the top 100 brands are newcomers to the Indian marketplace.

The PYMNTS.com Doing Business In India report also features a conversation with Amrish Rau, CEO of PayU India, about what it will take to make digital payments catch on in India. 

Rau said that he believes that digital payments are tied to online payments and purchases — if the country can embrace internet-based sales and payments, then acceptance of digital transactions would be a natural acceptance of that trend. He also noted that there’s reason to believe this connection is good news for digital payments, as internet purchases in India are growing at a healthy place, paving the way for an increase in modern payment methods.

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About The Report

The Doing Business In Report, a PYMNTS.com and PayU collaboration, focuses on the state of business — and doing business — around the world and what’s coming down the road ahead. Proprietary data analysis focuses on the past, present and future of nations on the rise in the world of payments.