Worldline India Digital Payments Report Q3 2020

In the past few weeks, the Reserve Bank of India has announced several initiatives to enhance the digital payments space in India; the opening of the first cohort under the regulatory sandbox with ‘retail payments’ as its theme, setting up of a Self-Regulatory Organisation for Payment System Operators, streamlining QR code infrastructure and setting up of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub among others. These initiatives are being welcomed by industry players as it is expected to leverage technology, spur innovation, enhance system efficiency and strengthen the acceptance infrastructure. Today, consumers are embracing digital payments like never before.

Contactless, faceless and cashless transactions are becoming the preferred choice among consumers and merchants alike – it is important to note that this trend started pre-COVID and is now accelerating. While consumers are ordering groceries, paying education fees, and utility bills through e-commerce modes from home, retail and online merchants are deploying multiple frictionless solutions including asset-lite of late. We are happy to share that Worldline was the first to launch SoftPOS in India in collaboration with MasterCard and Axis Bank to provide a simple and secure acceptance solution to merchants; the mobile phone solution can accept payments through NFC cards (Tap on Phone), QR and Link pay.

We are also pleased to share that Worldline is now the largest merchant acquirer and payment processor in Europe and is number 4 globally. The acquisition of Ingenico by Worldline enables us to offer our customers a broader range of innovative solutions both in the physical and online payment space. With the coming together of the two organizations, both of which have deep knowledge in the payments space, we will be able to serve our customers’ needs more comprehensively and seamlessly as they strive to offer a faster, more secure and frictionless payment experience.

This deal has also enhanced our leadership position in India. We remain committed to contributing to the ideal of a less-cash economy and our combined organization will be focused on achieving that goal. With this encouraging development, we give our insights on Indian digital transactions processed in Q3 2020 i.e. July-September where several payment products witnessed V-shaped recoveries. In addition, this report gives you insights into transactions that we processed in our network and our perspective on the Payment Infrastructure Development Fund announced by the RBI.