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From Cash to Cashless: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sudden Move To Promote Digital Payment

28Nov By PriyankaNo Comments

INDIA, News

From Cash to Cashless: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sudden Move To Promote Digital Payment

As calls for going cashless grow louder in India, a key challenge being faced globally is to check the continuing rise in the total value of currency in circulation and their share in the overall GDP -- a trend particularly visible in the US, Switzerland and Euro area. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sudden move to cancel the legal character of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in the fight against black money and corruption, the focus is all the more high on digital payments as the way forward. However, experts feel that continuing rise in the circulation of currencies in economic activities could well be a key impediment in the transformation to a cashless and digital economy. India's cash to GDP ratio, an indicator of the amount of cash used in the economy is around 12 to...

Facebook Launched “Express Wi-fi” Under Internet.org in India

27Nov By AdityaNo Comments

INDIA, News

Facebook Launched “Express Wi-fi” Under Internet.org in India

Months after it received flak for allegedly violating net neutrality with Free Basics, social networking giant Facebook is now testing a new model for public Wi-Fi deployments for offering quality internet access in rural parts of the country. According to Facebook's Internet.org page, the company's "Express Wifi" is live in India and it is "working with carriers, internet service providers and local entrepreneurs to help expand connectivity to underserved locations around the world". "...are expanding to other regions soon," it added. However, Facebook did not indicate if the Wi-Fi will provide limited access of a few websites, like its Free Basics, or provide full access. Express Wifi empowers local entrepreneurs to help provide quality internet access to their neighbours and mak...

Now You Can Dispense 2000 Rs Cash From Ola Cab

27Nov By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Now You Can Dispense 2000 Rs Cash From Ola Cab

After petrol pumps, cash can now be withdrawn by swiping debit cards at select Ola cabs as India's largest ride-hailing service partners with lenders like State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank to ease cash crunch. With banks and ATMs not being able to cope with the rush for access to lower denomination or new currency after old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes were banned, cash dispensing through swipe of debit cards at POS machines was introduced at around 3,700 petrol pumps. The same is being replicated by Ola on a test basis in its cabs in Kolkata and Hyderabad where taxis with a bank officer and POS machine are parked at different locations and dispense cash of Rs 2,000 per card. Ola Chief Operating Officer Pranay Jivrajka told PIXR8 that the initial response has been trem...

Airtel Payments Bank opens 10,000+ savings accounts in 2 days

27Nov By NitishNo Comments

News

Airtel Payments Bank opens 10,000+ savings accounts in 2 days

Payments Bank said over 10,000 customers have opened savings accounts with it within two days of going live with a pilot project in Rajasthan. Majority of these accounts have been opened by customers in semi-urban and rural areas, underlining the potential for growth of banking services in such areas, Airtel Payments Bank said in a statement. Last week, Airtel Payments Bank became the first Payments Bank to go live in the country with the rollout of pilot services in Rajasthan. "We are offering the highest interest rate on savings account deposits in the country along with personal insurance of Rs 1 lakh and may look at sweetening the value proposition further and introduce more benefits in the coming days to accelerate the onboarding," Shashi Arora, MD and CEO, Airtel Payments Ba...

24Nov By RishabhNo Comments

News

Hero Cycles Introduce Four E-cycles Priced Between Rs 42,000 and Rs 83,000

Hero Cycles today introduced four e-cycles with electric pedal assisted technology under the Lectro brand, priced between Rs 42,000 and Rs 83,000. The company, which had launched the brand earlier this year in Birmingham, plans to expand the electric pedal assisted technology cycle (EPAC) portfolio in India to over 20 products over the next few months. "EPAC is a nascent segment in the India bicycle market. Even as the premium bicycle segment has shown strong growth over the past few years, the EPAC segment has only recently started and has huge potential in the country," Hero Cycles Chairman and Managing Director Pankaj Munjal told reporters here. The electric pedal assisted cycles come with detachable battery which can be charged at home in around 4 hours and can run for over 50 km...

7 Indian Startups to Join Google Launchpad Accelerator Program

24Nov By PriyankaNo Comments

News

7 Indian Startups to Join Google Launchpad Accelerator Program

Tech giant Google today said it has selected seven startups from India that will join the third class of its Launchpad Accelerator programme. The shortlisted startups from India include an on-demand wardrobe rentals service (Flyrobe), furniture and appliances rental service (RentoMojo) and tutor help service (HashLearn). Other chosen startups include Curofy (a platform for doctors to discuss medical cases with peers), Happy Adda Studios (offers an Indian word game Jalebi), Playment (allows users to earn money for playing games) and Kapture CRM (helps businesses to do better lead management). These companies will join startups from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico Argentina, Colombia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam as part of the programme, Google said in a statement. These startups wi...

Razorpay First Payment Gateway to Announce Zero Transaction Fees on Debit Cards

24Nov By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Razorpay First Payment Gateway to Announce Zero Transaction Fees on Debit Cards

Razorpay, an online payments platform, announced today that it is waiving off all service charges on Debit Card transactions for all of its 10,000+ merchants, from 12 PM on Nov 24 till December 31, 2016. This move is aimed at helping businesses affected by demonetization and encourage users to transact online. While some banks are still deciding upon the waiver proposed by RBI, Razorpay has taken initiative and is the first payment gateway to remove all charges for debit cards. Debit cards are the most popular mode of online payments. In July 2016, a total of 25.94 million credit cards and 697.22 million debit cards were in operation, according to the Reserve Bank of India. In July 2016, total number of transactions through credit cards were 79.44 million while the figure for debit card...

Airtel Pips Paytm, Launched First Airtel Payments Bank in Rajasthan

23Nov By AdityaNo Comments

News

Airtel Pips Paytm, Launched First Airtel Payments Bank in Rajasthan

Sunil Mittal Led Bharti airtel launched first payment bank in Rajasthan on pilot project basis. The branch will be a testing point before full-scale pan-India launch, company statement in a press release. The bank known as "Airtel Payments Bank" will offer interest rate of 7.25 percent per annum on deposits in savings accounts. The company said customers in towns and villages across Rajasthan will now be able to open bank accounts at Airtel retail outlets, which will also act as Airtel banking points and offer a range of basic banking services. "With this, Airtel Bank becomes the first payments bank in the country to go live. Airtel Bank will commence the pilot with banking points at 10,000 Airtel retail outlets (in Rajasthan)," the statement added. "Airtel Bank plans to expand it...

Updated Paytm App Allows Shopkeepers To Accept Debit/Credit Card Payments

23Nov By NitishNo Comments

News

Updated Paytm App Allows Shopkeepers To Accept Debit/Credit Card Payments

Digital payments company Paytm today launched an updated paytm app that will allow small shopkeepers to accept payments made through credit and debit cards. The app will be particularly useful for small shopkeepers without card swiping machines, ensuring they do not lose out on business amid the ongoing cash crunch following demonetisation. "Paytm has updated its app to launch India's first APP POS, which will democratise digital payments. With this, any shopkeeper who has a smartphone and mobile internet, can accept debit and credit card payments from customers," Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and CEO Paytm said. Explaining the new facility on its app, Paytm said that under 'Accept Payment' icon, small shopkeepers and businesses can self-declare their details and provide bank account...

Ola Launches Ola Play, Connected Car Platform For Ride Sharing

22Nov By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Ola Launches Ola Play, Connected Car Platform For Ride Sharing

Claiming it to be a global first, cab aggregator Ola today launched Ola Play, a connected car platform for ride sharing that it said will transform the in-car experience for users on the go like never before. "Ola Play is a world first, built in India by an Indian team, which showcases that we can do better than the best in the world and be global leaders in technology and innovation," Co-founder and CEO of Ola, Bhavish Aggarwal, told reporters here. Ola Play will be made available on Ola Prime in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi for select customers and will be rolled out across other cities and to over 50,000 vehicles by March 2017, he added. Ola Play is powered by proprietary in-car and cloud technologies from Ola, by bringing advance car controls, choice of personalised content and...

Uber Enter Into Billion Dollar Market “Indian Weddings”, Launched UberWEDDINGS in 12 Cities

22Nov By NitishNo Comments

News

Uber Enter Into Billion Dollar Market “Indian Weddings”, Launched UberWEDDINGS in 12 Cities

Taxi-hailing app Uber has partnered WedMeGood, a wedding planning website, to offer mobility solutions for wedding-related travel called UberWEDDINGS in 12 Indian cities. UberWEDDINGS will be live till February 2017 and will provide convenient, hassle-free and cashless mobility solution to users in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Pune, Udaipur and Lucknow, Uber India said in a statement. Apart from India, Uber offers UberWEDDINGS in Washington DC, San Francisco, New York, Boston and LA as well. "Weddings in India are typically an elaborate affair, often spanning month-long planning and week-long celebrations involving family and friends. While we all enjoy the fun and celebration, they also bring in the logistical challen...

Bosch India Launched 18 Week Startup Accelerator Programme Called DNA

22Nov By NitishNo Comments

News

Bosch India Launched 18 Week Startup Accelerator Programme Called DNA

Technology and engineering solutions company Bosch India today launched its first accelerator programme for start-ups called DNA - 'discover, nurture and align', to gain a foothold in the country's booming start-up market. This is first time Bosch would be working with external start-ups to mentor and get them investment-ready, the company said in a statement here. The 18 week programme comprises an intense development, mentoring and piloting platform for start-ups. This platform offers start-ups the opportunity of gaining access to Bosch's working environment. "Bosch India is looking to partner and collaborate with start-ups that work on disruptive solutions in the areas of mobility solutions, smart manufacturing, smart cities, meditech, agritech and energy," said Manohar Esarapu, ...