Heena Sharma Blog

  ICICI Bank on Monday said it has joined hands with Google Pay for issuance of FASTag , a reloadable tag which enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets users pass through the toll plaza without stopping for cash transactions. This collaboration enables Google Pay users to order, track and even recharge ICICI Bank FASTag digitally on the payments platform itself. "With the increased adoption of digital payments in all walks of life, we believe that this collaboration with Google will help Google Pay users to apply for a new FASTag and get it delivered free of cost at their doorstep," Sudipta Roy, Head -- Unsecured Assets, ICICI Bank, said in a statement. "We believe that this initiative will go a long way in increasing adoption of FASTag for toll payments." FASTag is a brand name owned by Indian Highways Management Company Ltd. (IHMCL), which carries out electronic tolling and other ancillary projects of National Highway Authorities of India (N...

  Google Pay on Monday announced the rollout of tokenisation across its platform, enabling users with debit and credit cards to transact at NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminals and online merchants through its tap-to-pay feature. The feature is currently available for Axis and SBI card users on Visa payments network, and more banks, including Kotak are expected to follow soon. Through tokenisation, Android smartphone users with Google Pay can use their debit or credit card to make payments through a secure digital token attached to their phone without having to physically share their credit or debit card details. The feature also works with online merchants through one-time password (OTP), without any redirects to 3D Secure sites. To enable the tap and pay feature using the smartphone phone (Android), users will have to do a one-time set up by entering their card details and follow it by entering the OTP they get from the bank to add their card to the Google Pay app. Afte...

  In 2019, Google introduced ‘Jobs’ Spot on its digital payment app ‘Google Pay’ to help job seekers in India find entry-level jobs. The Jobs was originally piloted in Bangladesh and subsequently launched in Indonesia, under the brand Kormo Jobs . It has since grown into a job platform that can help job seekers and businesses of all sizes. The platform is now available in India, too. It is available as an Android app and Google has also rebranded its Jobs Spot on Google Pay to Kormo Jobs for consistent experience. How the Google Kormo app works: The Kormo app is limited to Android devices, therefore, it is available only on Google Play Store to download and use. Here are the steps on how to use the Kormo Android app: Step 1: Download the Kormo Jobs app from Play Store Step 2: Open the app and select language. The app is available in 11 languages, including English, Hindi, Gujrati, Bangla and Marathi Step 3: Sign-in using Google account. The app does not support any oth...

Google is bringing its ' Kormo Jobs ' Android app to India to help job seekers find and apply for positions across India. The tech giant, which introduced 'Jobs' last year in India as part of Google Pay to connect job seekers with opportunities in industries like on-demand businesses, retail and hospitality, said the offering will be rebranded to 'Kormo Jobs' . Google Regional Manager and Operations Lead (Kormo Jobs) Bickey Russell said Jobs was originally piloted in Bangladesh (in 2018) and subsequently launched in Indonesia, under the brand Kormo Jobs. Last year, Google also made available a similar offering in India under the brand 'Jobs as a Spot' on Google Pay app. Read More

Google Pay on Wednesday announced that it's 'Nearby Stores’ spot, which provides information such as business hours, essential items stock, social distancing information, is now available in 35 cities across the country. “Originally rolled in a few cities across India, this Spot is now available in 35 cities across the country. Additionally, merchant establishments can now indicate their business hours, whether social distancing measures are in place at the store and the essential goods presently in stock. Additionally, users in Mumbai can also see if the store is present in a containment zone,” said Google in a statement. Read More

Among UPI (unified payments interface) apps, Google Pay contributed 59 per cent and Walmart-owned PhonePe facilitated 26 per cent, followed by Paytm (7 per cent) and BHIM (6 per cent) in digital transactions in 2019, according to fintech firm Razorpay’s report ‘The Era of Rising Fintech.’ The report provides an in-depth study of a rapidly evolving fintech ecosystem in India and analyses the patterns of digital transactions and the impact of industry innovations, such as UPI, which are harnessing a digitally inclusive economy. In 2018, Google Pay contributed 48 per cent and BHIM facilitated 27 per cent in digital transaction, followed by PhonePe (15 per cent) and Paytm (4 per cent). Also, Amazon Pay was the most preferred wallet among consumers (33 per cent), followed by Ola Money (17 per cent) in 2019. While the usage of cards (46 per cent) and Net banking (11 per cent) saw a decline in 2019, down from 56 per cent and 23 per cent respectively in 2018, UPI (38 per cent) went up ...

With the penetration of mobile phones, the reliance on the device has increased many folds. Be it shopping, gaming or banking, there has been an immense growth in the hours people spend on their mobile phones. According to App Annie's latest report, TikTok and PUBG Mobile continued to dominate the mobile space in India. TikTok was the breakout social app of 2019 in the Indian market, while PUBG Mobile saw the highest consumer spend in games in the country. PUBG Mobile remained a distant third in breakout games of 2019 in terms of downloads as Carrom Pool clinched the top spot, followed by Free Fire. However, it bagged the top spot in the same category from consumer spend point of view. The rankings are based on year-on-year growth in both Apple’s iOS and Google Play downloads. While TikTok was ahead of all social media apps in India, according to AppAnnie, the larger trend was that hyper-local social apps grew in demand with consumers looking for smaller circles rath...

Google showcased an innovation for its mobile payments app Google Pay on Wednesday, wherein merchants at stores can initiate payment requests by punching in a customer’s mobile number on their point-of-sale (POS) terminals. With this the California-based firm is taking on PhonePe and Paytm in their own home ground and is also challenging its US rival Amazon. Google also unveiled two other services through which its payments application users can book train tickets and buy gold. “ Digital payments has been a phenomenal story for India,” said Ambarish Kenghe, director, product management, Google Pay, India. “We want to address use cases that are close to our (customer’s) heart.” Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction volumes have outpaced all other forms of digital payments including wallets, mobile banking, and credit and debit cards. It has grown 40 times in 18 months, from 17 million transactions in August 2017 to 673 million in February 2019. Read More Article...

The company is also going to offer consumers instant loans on its platforms and has partnered four banks Companies News : It’s official. Google will make its debut in India’s e-commerce and retail ecosystem this Diwali via its payments platform, Tez, rechristened Google Pay . From tying up with more than 2,000 e-commerce companies, including big names such as cab aggregator Uber and movie ticketing platform BookMyShow, to adding about 1.2 million offline merchants, including the likes of Big Bazaar, Google is on a hyperdrive to create an ecosystem where everything will hinge on the payments app. The company is also going to offer consumers instant loans on its platforms and has partnered four banks — HDFC, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra and Federal Bank. According to Google, a pre-approved loan limit for individuals, based on their bank account and Tez transaction history, will be set. The app’s users will get the money deposited directly into their bank accounts.

Already, 750 million transactions have been made with $30 billion in the annual run rate of transaction value Companies News : Global tech giant Google on Tuesday said that by Diwali it plans to expand the operations of its payments platform, and would add major retail chains restaurants and cab aggregators to the platform. The tech giant has also re-branded ' Tez ' as 'Google Pay ' as part of its efforts to take the digital payments app to more online and retail merchants across the country. “Building for India has helped Google build for everyone all around the world... Our partnership with RailTel is an example where millions of people are accessing the Internet from hundreds of railway station in India. We have also taken Google Station to other countries like Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand and Mexico," Google General Manager (Next Billion Users initiative and Payments) Caesar Sengupta said. Previously, Google had partnered with RailTel...