Driving financial inclusion times of uncertainty
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic ended the market abruptly. The pandemic caught everyone off guard, affecting millions of businesses. It forced millions of people to stay indoors for months and also claimed millions of lives and livelihoods.
Businesses that were forced to shut down or halt operations felt the effects of the pandemic most. Millions of other business owners were left with no choice but to stay at home while the situation faded away. The pandemic not only affected businesses, but also changed consumer behavior. As a result, MSMEs had to rethink their business strategy, products, and services, forcing many to take drastic measures to resume commerce.
A cash flow crisis left businesses with low liquidity, so more and more businesses have been forced to provide contactless payments, and do away with health hazards posed by physical currency exchange. Adhering to safety protocols such as social distancing, strict restrictions on open-air transactions, etc. has facilitated the transition. Adhering to Social distancing, curfew restrictions, multiple lockdowns, etc. forced small businesses to abandon traditional cash exchange and adopt newer methods such as QR codes, PoS machines, etc.
By the time we reach 2021, and continue the fight against the pandemic, it can be clearly said that businesses who do not adapt to changing consumer behavior, and who do not adopt newer, more innovative solutions, may not survive.
The age of digital transformation
Most small and medium businesses have experienced a shift in consumer behavior due to the rapid adoption of QR codes and PoS machines. By November 2020, 75% of Indian consumers prefer to shop at retailers that have adopted in-store safety measures, according to the Capgemini Research Institute. Businesses were required to move from admiring digital solutions for businesses from afar to becoming pioneers themselves. MSMEs have benefited from the integration of UPI and interoperable payments applications such as virtual wallets and cards.
It is the small business that knows its customer and their purchasing habits very well that can scale quickly in these uncertain times.
JVM PAY as a key player
We at JVM PAY have set out to make financial inclusion a reality for all MSMEs in the country. They can be empowered by simple yet crucial financial innovations that can help them grow their business, such as changing the way payments are viewed/accepted.
Having pioneered digital payment acceptance through its interoperable UPI QR, which allows merchants to accept payments without any transactions, JVM PAY has led the way in promoting digital payment acceptance fees. With just a single QR code, Several payment apps are available for merchants such as PayTm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, etc.
Several payment apps are available for merchants such as PayTm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM, small businesses to accept digital payments, without making a huge dent in their pockets. By waiving all kinds of fees, JVM PAY has been able to capture many untapped merchants (who never had POS machines) and become the No. 3 private player in India’s POS market.
We have enabled loans to over 1.6 lakh merchants across 100 cities in India, disbursing close to INR a day. Our monthly disbursements to merchant partners are around 250 crores. Using Jvm Pay lending solution, merchants can borrow up to INR 7 lakhs without any collateral.
Our Distributor to Retailer (D2R) lending product provides instant liquidity to distributors, wholesalers, traders, and dealers across industries. We will offer collateral-free loans of up to Rs. 50 lakhs for a period of seven to 30 days with this new lending product. We facilitated D2R loans of Rs. 50 crores in the first month of the launch of this product.