PAYPAL TO SHUTDOWN ITS DOMESTIC PAYMENTS OPERATIONS IN INDIA

 PAYPAL TO SHUTDOWN ITS DOMESTIC PAYMENT OPERATIONS IN INDIA :

PayPal has decided to shut down its domestic payment services in India from April 1, in less than four years after the global digital payment platform began its local operations in the country. 

However, the company would continue with its cross-border payment facilitation with a focus on the small and medium companies doing business overseas

Currently, PayPal has three centres in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad which are touted as the largest outside the US. Other than that, it also has its business development teams in India.

The company processed $1.4 billion worth of international sales for over 3,60,000 merchants in India last year.

The company on Thursday reported strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2020 with revenue of $6.12 billion.

It reported total payment volume (TPV) of $277 billion, growing 39 per cent. It added 16 million Net New Active Accounts (NNAs) in the fourth quarter.

Though the domestic payment market has been booming off late and services like Razorpay, PayU India, MobiKwik’s Zaakpay and Paytm Payments Gateway have been thriving, it was reported that PayPal was finding it difficult to make inroads in the local market.

In a statement, the company announced that from April 1, 2021, the US-based digital payment giant would only focus on its services on international payments. Ironically, when reports of such a move had first emerged last December, the company had vehemently denied it. 

“From 1 April 2021, we will focus all our attention on enabling more international sales for Indian businesses, and shift focus away from our domestic products in India,” a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in an IANS report.

“This means we will no longer offer domestic payment services within India from 1 April,” the spokesperson added.

The company did not elaborate on why it was shutting down its India business. However, local reports suggested that company’s priorities have shifted in the Indian market.

According to the company, it can have the greatest positive impact in India’s economic recovery by pivoting its business to support its customers where they need it most.

“PayPal is committed to doing all we can to help Indian businesses during these challenging times. The critical role our global payments platform plays in India has only been magnified by the pandemic,” the company spokesperson said.