An SOS for Paytm POS
For Paytm, putting resources behind point-of-sale terminals is a waste of money and precious management bandwidth.
Why read this story?
Editor's note: He says it just shy of thirteen minutes into the call. But it doesn’t come out straight or sudden. First he apologizes for being a bit harsh, maybe, he isn’t sure, and then after an awkward moment, he asks the question: “How much are they selling the machine for?” We’ve been chatting for that long, jumping from one question to another about the point-of-sale machine, or POS, business in India. And the person at the other end of the phone, a POS veteran of sorts who has been in the business enough number of years to distinguish the bad days from the worse, has been a bit impatient. Reticent, even. Founder of one of the largest POS companies in India, he requested not to be named because there are only a few private, non-banking players in the business, and he doesn’t want to come across as hostile. After tottering around questions on market size, the payments landscape, his company’s performance and the need for POS machines for small merchants, he’s finally asked me the price at which Paytm has launched …
More in Internet
You may also like
Is the cross-border payment aggregation wave here to stay?
Firms like Razorpay and Pine Labs are eyeing the lucrative international remittances market with their newly received cross-border payment aggregator licences. The opportunity, albeit large, is not without challenges.
Peak XV’s ducks-in-a-row moment is here
After the anxiety of its split with Sequoia, a spell of founder run-ins, senior-level churn and tighter capital, things finally seem to be turning for Peak XV Partners.
There’s more to Paytm’s optimistic results than meets the eye
Cost-cutting measures and growth from a low base make Paytm’s numbers appear better than they are. What comes next will be closely watched by investors who now have other fintech bets to consider.