India’s digital payment arena, which has long been dominated by giants like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm and other payment interfaces, is about to face a new competitor. Chennai-based global SaaS (Software as a Service) leader Zoho is setting up to launch its own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application named “Zoho Pay.”
Zoho is aiming to capture both the mass consumer market and the enterprise spectrum, which it is already serving. Reportedly, the company secured its payment-aggregator license last year and is planning to deeply integrate its new feature within its newly launched messaging service, “Arattai.”
Features and combinations of Zoho UPI application
Zoho is planning to design the app with multiple features, including peer-to-peer (P2P) transaction, money transfer, and bill settlement. The Arattai merging will help users to make transactions inside the chat threads, which will allow the user to send or receive money without switching apps.
The company is also planning to merge its payments interface with its popular business software, which includes Zoho Books, Zoho CRM, and Zoho Invoice. This would help businesses manage operations and collect payments, from Invoicing to final settlement.
However, we have got mixed public reviews about the Zoho UPI application ahead of its launch.
As said by Soumik Banerjee, Founder & Financial Advisor at The Market Catalyst (Financial consulting firm) residing in Kolkata, West Bengal, India,” Zoho Pay will face a tough challenge penetrating the market against Google Pay and Phone Pay due to existing user bias towards security. It will take longer to gain traction compared to established apps, and security is a primary concern for users when choosing a UPI payment app.”
“I would consider switching to Zoho Pay as an Indian alternative, but security remains the main concern,” added Mr Banerjee.
According to Arka Karmakar, Senior Consultant at Sprinklr, residing in New Delhi, India, “Zoho Pay can succeed by leveraging SME integration and chat payments. Breaking the consumer P2P duopoly will be difficult. Zoho Pay needs a multi-year, merchant-led strategy with incentives. User is unlikely to switch entirely from Google Pay or Phone Pay. Zoho Pay could be useful for specific use cases like chat-based group payments. Zoho Payments could benefit from POS hardware and billing tools integration.”
“Zoho UPI faces a tough market against Gpay and Phonepe, but could succeed with better UX. I am not planning to switch to Zoho UPI soon, but I will fully switch to Zoho UPI once confident in its stability and user experience,” as said in a statement by Zoya Fatima, studying MA Mass Communication at Jamia Milia Islamia University in New Delhi.
