Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
Payment processing in the travel and hospitality industry is at the threshold of dynamic changes – from the exponential usage of mobile wallets to introduction of Jio Money to the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). With the payment industry understanding that it is not just a transaction, but part of customer experience, there are focused efforts on making the whole process seamless. Innovation is the name of the game. MobiKwik that has 32 million users, recently launched bubble pin that allows users to make payments at any offline location even without data connectivity. “These are just one-step payments where users need to share a pin only, not even their mobile number, to make the payment,” said Upasana Taku, co-founder, MobiKwik, acknowledging that the company has to constantly innovate its offerings to address issues raised by users.
Ease of use is the primary case for adoption of mobile wallets in the travel vertical. “Users can easily decide their travel plans on travel portals or mobile wallet portals and make the payment,” said Taku, adding that MobiKwik wallet also has a unique option of cash loading for the wallet, thus converting users who prefer cash payments to e-cash payment and offering the convenience to book travel or hotels and pay from their phone. Mobile wallets are also effective payment processes for offline tour operators and travel agents. “They can receive and send payments through P2P, money can be sent to a user’s wallet or bank account,” added Taku.
The company’s bus booking service, launched in June 2016, is seeing over 4,000 daily bookings. “We have a strong portfolio in railways and bus ticket bookings,” informed Taku. Users can even pay for autos on Jugnoo with the app.
UPI will be a game changer in time to come, and ICICI Bank is betting big on it. At the recently held FHRAI annual convention in Indore, Saurabh Jain, chief manager, mobile payments, ICICI Bank, mentioned, “ICICI Bank tries to come out with innovative payment technology. The process should bring the merchant closer to the customer.” Mohit Kanodia of Jio Money, Reliance Jio Infocomm affirmed, “End-to-end payment should be simplified. The payment process should not be any different from billing.” It should also provide the ‘wow’ moment to the customer.