Paytm makes inroads into the education sector

Buoyed by the immense opportunity existing in the Indian education sector currently marked at about $ 100 billion, Paytm, a mobile payment and commerce platform, has tried to tap the education sector by providing cashless transaction solutions across schools, colleges, universities and other premium academic institutions.

To date, Paytm has taken its cashless solutions to campuses through tie-ups with over 150 institutions such as Delhi Public School, India Institute of Technology, Lovely Professional University, Sharda University, Garden City College, Bangalore, Jaipuria Institute, Universal Education and many others.The response has been phenomenal and several institutions have welcomed Paytm’s move and are fast moving away from cash, thereby adopting Paytm as the only payment tool.”

Speaking on this move, Kiran Vasireddy, Senior Vice President, commented, “By the end of next year, 25,000 academic institutions would be Paytm enabled cashless campuses wherein students can pay for admission forms, fee and other expenses using our wallet. “

The company has also tied up with major coaching institutions that enable preparation for the 10 major exams most Indian students attempt such as Medical entrance examinations, IIT JEE, UPSC, CAT, and GATE.

Talking about the early adoption of digital wallet by students, Kiran Vasireddy, Senior Vice-President, Paytm said, “37 % of Indian Internet users are in the age group of 15 to 24 years with about 11 lakh students graduating from college each year.This is a substantial demographic populace for which leading a digital lifestyle is a not just a habit but a way of life. The current trends reflect the younger generation’s preference of transacting through digital wallets over plastic money (credit and debit cards). Academic Institutions too find it a win-win situation with digital payments as it reduces their workload while increasing overall efficiency.”

OS